Blind to the Past
by Sarahhosmer01
Summary: Nami Kiyomizu awoke outside the Leif Village with no memories except for a dream she had. As soon as she mentions her name, she is treated differently. She soon begins her life as a crazy, unpredictable ninja. But her empty past is always haunting her, appearing when she least expects it. Who is Nami, and what secrets are being hidden from her view?
1. Chapter 1

_"Nami."_

_I heard a voice coming from deep inside my dream. The scene showed itself to be a seemingly endless white area. It would have been complete nothingness, if it was not for the man standing in front of me. I squinted my eyes in confusion._

_"Who the hell are you?" I asked, taking in the man standing before me. He looked no older than 17, with blonde hair and blue eyes that matched mine. He was dressed in clothes you would normally never see, that seemed designed for combat. He smiled at me._

_"That," he took a step closer to me, "will be revealed in time."_

_"Okayyyyy." I said skeptically, stretching out the y. "Mind telling me why you're in my dream?" His face suddenly turned serious, but it still held a sad smile._

_"I'm taking you to the place where you truly belong."_

_"Uh huh. Now where exactly is that?" I crossed my arms. He laughed._

_"You're just like I thought you would be." He said, still laughing at me. I scowled at him. "I am taking you to your birthplace. It is where your past and future await."_

_"You're giving me some pretty sketchy answers, you know that? Anyway, can I just wake up now? This dream is pretty boring. I need to get back to... uhhh... what exactly am I supposed to get back to again?" I scratched my head. He sighed._

_"Then it's already begun."_

_"What's begun?" I asked confused._

_"Your loss of memories." My eyes widened in shock. I quickly scanned my mind to find almost nothing. I saw a couple smiling at me fondly, and a house being engulfed in flames. But even those were drifting away from me, slowly but surely._

_"Okay, Mr. Dream Man, I'd like to wake up now and get my memories back." He shook his head._

_"Like I said, I'm taking you to where you belong. And in that process, you will lose your memories. Eventually, you should gain them back. Although I'm not sure whether that will benefit you or hurt you." I opened my mouth to talk, but found that I was unable to. The man continued._

_"We have little time. I cannot allow you to ask questions I cannot answer yet. You," he poked my forehead, "are Nagi Kiyomizu. Never forget that. Before you were even born, many things were already decided for you. I'm sorry about that." He looked at me sincerely. "Soon, you will awaken in an unfamiliar place. Find the Hokage. Tell him about this dream, and your name. He'll take care of you." Suddenly, the man was fading away as well. He called out to me. "Our time is almost up. Nagi, you also must never forget how loved you are. Give that love back to others. Live, love, experience. You will face many challenges, but I know you can defeat them." He leaned down to kiss my forehead. "I believe in you." He said right as he disappeared from view._

_I frantically looked around the nothingness that surrounded me, beginning to panic. Suddenly, I heard another voice._

_"Kakashi, what should we do about this youthful individual?"_

_"Well, Gai, we should probably-"_

I wearily opened my eyes to see two men standing in front of me. They stopped talking when they noticed I was awake. One man had almost his entire face covered, showing only one of his eyes. He had pretty awesome silver gravity defying flippy hair that almost made me want to touch it. Actually, never mind, that's considered weird and socially unacceptable. The other had this really epic bowl cut and eyebrows for miles. Seriously, I was questioning if he had a squirrel hidden up there.

"Oh hi there, eyebrows," I nodded to the bowl cut guy, "and gravity defying hair guy." I nodded to the other. "Can someone tell me where the hell I am?" I said looking around. "And why the hell am I in the middle of a forest?!" I screeched jumping up quickly. I had was laying against the trunk of a tree, and was surrounded by plenty others. This would be a lot easier to deal with _if I had my freaking memories. Stupid dream guy who may or may not have been imaginary._

"I thought we were supposed to be asking you that." Mask guy said, scratching the back of his head. "You're were sleeping at the outskirts of Konoha, and yet you have no idea where you are?" I shook my head.

"Well I had this really weird dream where this guy was all like 'Ima take you to the place you belong and you're gonna lose all your memories and your name's Nami Kiyomizu and tell the Hokage and blah blah blah.' That's pretty much my only memory, and it probably wasn't even real." I said quickly. The weird looking guys' eyes widened.

"What did you say your name was?" The silver haired guy asked slowly.

"Erm... Nami Kiyomizu... I think." I said unsure. The eyebrows man's eyes lit up.

"Kakashi! SHE'S OVERFLOWING WITH YOUTH! IT'S TOO MUCH!" _So the guy who looks like a pirate is Kakashi..._

"Not now Gai. We need to take her to the Hokage right away." _And squirrel brows is Gai..._

"Who's this Hokage guy_?_" I asked.

"He's the leader of the village. You said that in your dream you were told to see him, right?" Kakashi said. I nodded. I tried not to let everything get to me, but I was incredibly confused and overwhelmed. I had no idea where I was, who I was, or what that dream thingy was all about. Kakashi and Gai led me towards the village, with Gai randomly challenging Kakashi and bursting out about the youthfulness of everything around him, and Kakashi staying almost completely silent. They didn't ask me anymore questions, which I was quite grateful for. It's not like I could give them any answers.

We finally entered a very official looking room, where Gai and Kakashi tried their hardest to act respectfully.

"Hokage-sama, we found this girl outside the village on our way back from a mission. She claims to have no memories except for a dream before waking." Kakashi said evenly. I nodded to support his story. The Hokage looked interested by this. He looked directly at me.

"And who are you, young one?" He asked kindly.

"Apparently my name's Nami Kiyomizu." The Hokage and others in the room looked surprised.

"Tell me about your dream." He commanded gently. I knew that this time I wasn't suppose to skip around the detail like I did with Gai and Kakashi. I explained the dream to him in every detail, while the Hokage was still looking at me intently. The other people in the room all looked at me as well. When I finished, no one spoke for a few minutes. I decided to break the ice.

"So, old man, you mind telling me where the hell I am?" I asked. An annoying looking guy scowled at me, but the Hokage just laughed and wave it off.

"You're in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A ninja village. Here, children are trained to become ninja and are sent out on missions when they obtain a high enough skill." My eyes widened excitedly.

"Ninja? Seriously? Do you guys like hang upside down in trees and use fancy swords to kill people and everything? And do you throw those sharp thingys around and-" I stopped when I noticed everyone in the room was chuckling at me. One of the men who was smoking, removed his cigarette before laughing as well. He walked over to me.

"You're going to fit in just fine around here. I'm Asuma." He said still chuckling, holding out his hand. I took it quickly.

"Hi, Asuma." I said. He smiled at me once again before walking back over to the Hokage's side. The Hokage looked at me cautiously before speaking again.

"I believe you are telling the truth." He said. I beamed as he continued. "You have no where to go, am I right?" I looked down.

"Well, since I've got no memories, pretty much. Even if I did, I have a feeling like there wouldn't be a family for me to return to." Everyone in the room looked at me sadly. I immediately put on a smile. "It's alright! I'll be on my way, I'm sure I'll find somewhere to stay. I can handle myself just fine." The Hokage smiled at me.

"We can't have that, can we? You will stay in the Leif Village." He commanded. I was about to protest before he continued. "Gai, why don't you take her out training with the rest of your team? I want you to judge if she's fit to start at the academy." Gai's eyes lit up.

"Of course, Hokage-sama!" He said.

"And Kakashi?" The Hokage said.

"Yes?" Pirate man said.

"I want Nami to move in with you." Kakashi paled and the other ninja snickered at either his reaction or unfortune of having to move in with me. I smirked at him.

"Don't worry, garvity defying hair man, I'm not_ too_ evil." I winked at him. Gai smiled at me flashing a thumbs up which I flashed back.

"Come, my new youthful student, so I can teach you the ways of the ninja!"

Gai showed me around the village before taking me to the training grounds. I kept hoping a memory would come back, or something, anything, would look familiar, but I gave nothing. I eventually decided not to worry about it. Worrying wouldn't make my memories come back any faster, so all I could do for now was enjoy life in Konoha. Gai and I stepped onto the training ground where I saw the rest of his team. A boy with long black hair and really epic blueish eyes stood up when he saw us.

"Gai-sensei, you're late." He said boredly. A girl with dark brown hair in two buns stood up as well and groaned.

"You're never late, Gai-sensei. We've been waiting forever." I finally noticed the last student who was... a mini Gai? My eyes widened as he jumped up and took my hands.

"So... so... YOUTHFUL!" He yelled making me flinch. "Gai-sensei, where did you find such a beautiful girl?" He said with hearts in his eyes. His eyebrows were incredibly distracting. I couldn't even focus on what he was saying.

"Lee! You must be careful with the young girl. She was found outside Konoha with no memories." Lee flinched at Gai's words.

"I'm so sorry, Gai-sensei!" He said, tears flowing from his eyes.

"My dear Lee, it's alright! You didn't know!" Gai said, tears flowing from his eyes as well. The girl rolled her eyes.

"Looks like they're at it again." She turned to me. "I'm Tenten by the way. Do you really not have any memories?" She asked curiously. I shook my head.

"Nothing. I'm Nami. I woke up outside the village when Gai and Kakashi found me and took me to the Hokage. Apparently I'm staying in the village now." I told her smiling. The other boy looked at me suspiciously. I stared into his eyes.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked glaring.

"Two reasons, actually. 1-You were staring at me, and 2-I think your eyes look really cool." I said shrugging. He looked away quickly, and I could see a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks. He didn't answer after that. Tenten rolled her eyes again.

"That's Neji." She said, pointing at the boy. "He doesn't trust people easily, which is probably why he was glaring at you." She shot him a look quickly. Gai and Lee finished up their crying fest and joined us.

"Alright, my youthful students! Today, we are going to help train Nami to decide if she can start at the academy, and possibly be prepared to graduate by next week. I want you to all go easy on her, since this is her first time training." The group nodded. "Neji, I want you to give her a lesson on accessing her chakra to use Jutsus." He looked reluctant, but nodded again anyway. "The rest of you, practice your individual training." Neji and I branched off.

"Alright, what do you know about chakra?" I stared at him blankly.

"What's catchra?" I asked.

"_Chakra_." He sighed. "You really know nothing."

"You don't have to be so mean about it, Neji." I said pouting. He smiled faintly. We spent about an hour as Neji told me everything there was to know about the ninja world. Surprisingly, Neji was a really cool guy. He teased me about my lack of knowledge, but other than that, he was really nice. We finally started our training once he taught me about catchra and all that.

"Alright. I want you to try to feel your chakra. Try to gather all your chakra into your hands-" Neji suddenly stopped talking. I opened my eyes to see my hands were surrounded by a blue glowing veil.

"Woah!" I yelled. "How's that, Neji?" I asked, waving my arms around.

"That's... Surprising. You concentrated the chakra so densely into your hands that it became visible."

"Is it not normal?" I asked concerned.

"Well, it's surprising because you've had so little practice. But it just means that you're skilled."

"Thanks Neji!" I beamed and glomped him.

"Too... Close... Nami..." He grunted through clenched teeth.

"Oh come on, Neji, everyone knows you secretely really enjoy hugs." I squeezed him tighter.

"No, I don't." He pushed me off. "Now, since I've taught you about chakra, we should go report back to Gai."

"Oh fine." I sighed. Neji told Gai about my great chakra control, and he went off to train by himself. Gai and Lee gave me a few Taijutsu lessons, which I had a natural talent for. They also taught me a little Ninjutsu, which I was also pretty good at. I excelled at hand to hand combat, but was horrible at long range. I had absolutely horrible aim and couldn't hit anything for the life of me. Tented even tried to teach me a bit, but even she couldn't get me to touch a target.

I would have to work on that.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I sat hunched over, panting rapidly. Gai and Lee flashed smiles at me.

"You did great today, my youthful flower! You're Taijustsu is great, your Ninjutsu is good, but your long range attacks definitely need work. Most astounding though, is your endurance and chakra level. Most people would have collapsed hours ago, but you're still going. I'm proud." Gai said to me. I managed to flash a smile.

"Course... You are... I'm just... So amazing..." I forced out. Neji rolled his eyes.

"Anyway... I should probably... Get to Kakashi's..." I said still panting. I began to walk away but began to fall to my knees before someone slung my arm around their shoulder, supporting my weight. I looked over to see Neji smirking and I groaned.

"You can barely walk. Besides, you don't even know where it is. I do." He said.

"How do you know where Kakashi lives?" I asked.

"Gai's dragged us over there a few times to challenge him. They're 'eternal rivals' or something like that."

"That sounds like Gai, alright." I giggled before calling over my shoulder. "Bye Gai-sensei, Lee, Tenten!"

"GOODBYE, YOUTHFUL FLOWER!" Gai and Lee yelled in unison, earning a groan from Tenten.

"Bye Nami! I can't wait to train with you again!" Tenten yelled.

"The team seems to really like you." Neji said as he led me through the village.

"Well of course they do. I told you, I'm amazing." I said sarcastically. He scowled at me, which I laughed at.

"Come on, Neji, open up a little, will ya?" I said poking his arm repeatedly. He glared at me some more.

"We're here." He said as we stopped at an apartment. "Aren't you going to unlock it?"

"Good question. I may possibly not have a key." I scratched the back of my head. "Oh well!" I began pounding on the door. "KAKASHI! Open up! It's Nami! I know you've missed me!" I yelled in a singsong voice loud enough to be heard in other apartments. A few people poked their heads out of their apartments, but I just smiled and waved to them. Neji sweatdropped.

"I suddenly feel really bad for Kakashi." He said.

"Oh come on Neji, we both know you're just depressed I'm not living with you instead." I nudged him. He scowled at me. Suddenly the door was flung open to show a bored looking Kakashi.

"Nami. It's about time you came back." He took in my condition. I was bruised and exhausted, leaning on Neji, and still panting slightly. "They worked you hard, huh?" He said, a faint smile showing through his mask. I nodded vigorously.

"Yeah! It was exhausting, but definitely worth it. Neji was a really good teacher." I pinched his cheeks and he glared at me. Kakashi laughed.

"How did you do?" He asked as he shifted my weight over from Neji to him.

"Um... I think I did good... I don't even know bro. I don't really have much to go on here." I said sheepishly. It was true. With no memories, I had nothing to compare my abilities too. Kakashi nodded and looked over at Neji.

"She excels at close combat, but is horrible at any long range attacks. Her aim is...off. She needs work on her ninjutsu, but she has absolutely amazing chakra control, and has incredible endurance and chakra." Neji answered. Kakashi smiled and nodded, ruffling my hair.

"Looks like you've got some talent in there." Kakashi said before asking Neji one more question. "Do you recommend her to start at the academy?" Neji considered this before nodding confidently.

"For her first day training, she did very well. With consistent work, she could become a very powerful ninja." I beamed.

"You hear that, Kakashi? I'm going to become a very powerful ninja." I smirked at him. Kakashi sighed.

"I really hope that doesn't happen right away. You're going to be a lot more difficult to take care of." He said. "Come on, we should get you inside so you can rest." I nodded and turned to Neji before we left.

"Bye Neji! We'll have to train together soon." I winked at him. Kakashi closed the door and I observed his apartment. The place was a completer mess.

"Kakashi, you sure are a mess. Do you ever clean this place up?" I asked skeptically. He chuckled.

"I'm always off on missions, so I never get the time for it." He said. I laid down on his couch.

"Well then, I'll just have to clean it up for you. It's the least I can do." I stared up at the ceiling.

"You don't have to do that."

"Yeah, I know, but I am. And there's nothing you can do about it." I said mockingly to him. I hesitated before asking another question. "Kakashi? Do you think I'll ever get my memories back? My mind is so empty right now. I hate it. All I have is this one day. I know nothing and no one other than what I was shown today. I feel like there's these huge things that I lost when I lost my memories, and I'm terrified I'm never going to get them back." Kakashi sat down on the couch and hesitated before answering.

"I really don't know. You could wake up tomorrow and have everything back, or you could go through the rest of your life without ever remembering those years." He said sadly. "But you shouldn't spend these new days thinking only of what you've lost. Think of this as a new start. A beginning. You're going to make new memories, and meet more and more people, and experience new things. And maybe, along the way, you'll regain your previous experiences." I smiled faintly.

"Thanks Kakashi." I closed my eyes and began drifting off into a slumber. "For everything."

**A/N: Why herro there :) I'm Sarah. It's nice to meet you all. I probably shouldn't be starting this fanfic since I'm working on another one at the moment as well, but this idea has been stuck in my head for a while and I'm suffering from writers block on my other story. So, WELCOME TO MY NARUTO FANFIC!  
**

**Naruto: ISN"T THIS A NARUTO FANFIC? WHERE AM I?!**

**Me: Calm yo tits. You'll be in the next chapter Naruto, so stop worrying.**

**Naruto: ...Fine.**

**Me: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Tell me what you think, how I can make it better, even flames. I can use all of that to help me grow as a writer, and that's all I could ask. Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of this fanfiction! I hope you enjoyed it enough to continue the story!**

**Update: So a few people have been saying that Naji's OOC and I have to agree with them. I went back and tried to change it, but if you still think Neji's OOC please tell me and how you think I can fix it! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

I stretched my arms and legs and wearily opened my eyes to find myself in a bedroom by myself.

_Where the hell am I...? Oh yeah, that whole amnesia thing happened. Kakashi must have moved me to a bed when I fell asleep._

I took in the room I was currently in. It was incredibly... boring. It consisted of extremely drab colors and had nothing unique in it. Well, I'll just have to change that. I smirked to myself as I exited the room.

"AY YO KAKASHI! Did you sleep well?" I yelled as I plopped down on his couch. He poked his head out of the kitchen and narrowed his eyes at me.

"Nami, you're going to wake everyone in the building. Be patient. I'm making breakfast."

"Ohh food! You already know me so well, Kakashi. Food is one of the few things on the planet that actually shut me up." I smirked and Kakashi resumed his cooking. Bored, I looked around his apartment. I found a few books that talked about the ninja world. One talked a lot about the academy, which was helpful because a few people kept mentioning that yesterday. Apparently, the academy is where children go to be taught as a ninja. _That means I'm really going to train to become a ninja? EPIC! _I scanned through the book until Kakashi finished breakfast, which I downed in less than a minute. He stared at me.

"You're a pretty decent cook, gravity hair." I said, finishing my meal. He chuckled.

"I can tell, by the fact I've barely touched my food and you're already finished." I shrugged.

"Food _is_ my weakness, Kakashi. I'll eat anything and everything." He laughed again.

"Go get changed. We need to head to the academy. You're starting today." My eyes widened.

"Today?! Seriously? So I'm really going to become a ninja? That's so... so... cool! Thanks, Kakashi!" I glomped him. His eye twitched, but he gave in and gave me a small squeeze back.

"Just go get ready. We don't want to be to late." I nodded quickly and ran back into my room and checked the dresser to find a variety of ninja clothes. I picked some out and changed into them to discover that I looked freaking epic. My long blonde hair fell to my knees, and I wore a vest that exposed the bottom of my stomach. I wrapped bandages around one of my arms and my legs, and wore black socks and gloves. My teal eyes twinkled as I looked at myself in the mirror. I felt great. I burst out of the room and slid my arm into Kakashi's.

"Come on, Kakashi! We have to get to the academy!" I dragged him out of the building as he was reading some weird looking book. When we were outside, I turned randomly and started going who knows where. Kakashi barely looked up from his book as he pulled me to a stop. I would have fell onto my face if I hadn't still been holding onto Kakashi. I glared at him. He sighed.

"The academy," he turned around, "is that way." He pointed in the opposite direction I had been traveling. I looked at him disapprovingly.

"Tsk, tsk. You should have just said that earlier, then!" I began dragging him the other way. Eventually we finally made it to a building that I guessed was the academy.

"Is that it?" I asked Kakashi excitedly. He nodded and we entered the building together. A lady sitting at the front desk raised her eyebrows as we entered, but she quickly put on a smile when she looked at me.

"You must be the new student!" She said smiling. "What's your name?" Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Oh, well, that's-" he began before I interrupted him.

"Nami Kiyomizu." I smiled. The moment I had uttered my last name, her eyes widened in shock. Kakashi sweatdropped. The lady nodded numbly.

"R-right." She said nervously. "Your class is right d-down the hall." I narrowed my eyes at her and was about to ask what the flub nuggets was going on in her head, until Kakashi grabbed my arm and began dragging me away.

"What the hell was going on with her?" I asked confused.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." He said, not meeting my eyes. "This is your class. I'll walk you in." I nodded reluctantly and let him lead me inside. As soon as I was inside, the entire class began staring at me. A few of the boys had hearts in their eyes, and most of the girls were sending me glares. I rolled my eyes.

"Iruka, this is Nami. She's going to be in your class from now on." Kakashi said evenly and turned to leave, flashing me a faint smile before he did. Iruka smiled and nodded.

"Hi Nami!" He said to me. "You can sit by Naruto," he gestured towards a boy who was sitting in the back by himself, smiling hhopefully, "or Sasuke," he gestured to another boy who was looking at me calculatingly. This Sasuke glared at me, and I glared at him right back, making his eyes widen. I could tell sensei fully expected me to want to sit by Sasuke. Naruto looked down by this.

"I'll sit by Naruto." The entire class seemed surprised by this. "What? Duck butt's hair bothers me." I looked over to Sasuke. The girls in the class looked ready to tear my throat out, especially a blonde and girl with pink hair. I laughed and made my way to sit next to Naruto.

"Hi there. I'm Nami." I whispered to him. He looked at me strangely before answering.

"Hi Nami! I'm Naruto, and I'm going to become Hokage one day, believe it!" He grinned at me. I grinned back.

"I do. With that attitude, I'm sure you can do it." He stared at me.

"You really believe in me?" He asked cautiously.

"Of course! I'm sure you'll become a great ninja." He beamed.

"You know it! And when I do, the whole village will have to respect me!" Me and Naruto spent the class talking. He was a really cool kid. He told me about how the village had always looked down on him for some reason, and he made it his goal to become Hokage so they would have to acknowledge him. I really despised that fact that the villagers would do that to him, and I made a mental note to ask Kakashi about it later.

"Alright class! We're going to practice your transformation jutsu!" I flinched. I had absolutely no idea how to do that. I turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, I'm sure this a really stupid question, but how do we do that?" I asked nervously. He grinned at me.

"It's easy! Don't worry. You just have to do these hand sign things and think about what to transform into." He showed me the hand signs and I nodded. Naruto went before me.

"Sexy jutsu!" He yelled, using the transformation hand signs. My eyes widened as I realized what he was doing. He transformed into a _very_ exposed female, causing Iruka to fall back with a nosebleed.

"NARUTO!" Iruka yelled. I tried to hold in the laughter, but after about 2 seconds it came pouring out. I clutched my stomach, and started rolling on the floor.

"Naruto..." I wheezed, "That was amazing!" I was still laughing uncontrollably. The class was staring at me strangely. "What? You can't tell me you guys didn't find that even the tiniest bit funny." Most of them cracked a grin at that, except duck butt, pinkette, and blondie, who glared at me. And Iruka. He was pretty ticked.

"NAMI! DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!" He scolded me.

"Come on Iruka-sensei, live a little!" Iruka glared at me.

"Just do your transformation jutsu." He said angrily. I smirked.

"Aye, aye, captain!" I said before forming the hand signs. I transformed into a perfect copy of Iruka. I put one hand on my waits, and made a peace sign with the other. "Hi, I'm Iruka! I fall for Naruto's sexy jutsu, and have little to no sense of humor!" I said cheerfully. Iruka was seething with rage, and the class was snickering quitely.

"Transform... back... now..." He said through clenched teeth.

"Fine, fine." I muttered, transforming back to normal. "You're such a party pooper, Iruka-sensei." As I went to sit back down, a boy with red paint on his face and an _adorable_ dog came over to me.

"Hey there, beautiful. You did a pretty good job irking Iruka-sensei there." My face turned red, but I quickly covered it up.

"Thanks, it's a talent of mine." I winked at him. "What's your name?" He smiled.

"I'm Kiba, and this is Akamaru." He said pointing at the dog.

"He's so cute!" I said happily. Akamaru barked in agreement, jumping away from Kiba and attacking my face. I grinned happily, petting him.

"You're such a sweetie!" I gushed over the puppy. Kiba laughed nervously.

"Sorry about that. I guess Akamaru really likes you."

"Well I like him too! I've always loved dogs." I looked up to smile and Kiba. He blushed.

"Yeah? Well maybe-" He was interrupted when pinkette and blondie started talking to me.

"Hi Nami." The blond one said.

"Do you, um, think anyone here is cute?" They kept glancing over at duck butt.

"Well, yeah. Akamaru's adorable!" They scowled at me.

"What about anyone _human_?" Blondie asked annoyed, still glancing over at emo boy. I laughed.

"I get it. You two are scared that I'm going to try to steal your precious boy toy, huh?" They glared at me. "Don't worry, I'm not into emo ducks." This made Kiba laugh, and Sasuke, who had been listening in, raise his eyebrows in surprise. Naruto showed up at that point.

"You go, Nami! That guy isn't even that cool, right?" He said happily.

"Course not. Well, at least not as cool as you and Kiba." I nudged them, making them smile. The two girls were just getting more and more angry. "What? Shouldn't you two be happy I'm not interested? It should increase your chances, no matter how small they already were." I smirked at them. The blonde one stepped forward.

"You listen here, if you _ever_ dare to-" She was stopped when another boy pushed her backwards gently.

"Ino, Sakura, you're taking this way too far. She said she wasn't interested. Even if she was, what did you plan on doing?" He gave them a bored look. The girls were stunned.

"But, Shikamaru," the pink one who was apparently Sakura said.

"Sakura, you're being such a drag." He said annoyed. I smiled. This guy seemed pretty cool. Ino and Sakura sent me one last dirty look before storming off. The guy turned to me. "Sorry about them. Shikamaru." He held out his hand which I took gratefully.

"Thanks for that. A second later, and I probably would have started hitting them." I grinned at him.

"Yeah. It's a drag." I laughed.

"You can say that again." Shikamaru, Kiba, Naruto and I spent the rest of the day talking. I was glad to have made some friends. I would need someone to stop me from killing those fangirls.

* * *

"KAKASHI! I"M HOOOOOMEEEEEE!" I yelled the moment I walked through the house. I expected him to answer right away, but I heard nothing. After looking around, I found a note from Kakashi.

_Went out on a mission. I'll be gone for a few days._

_Please, don't burn the house down. I left enough money so that you'll be good for food._

_See you soon._

_-Kakashi_

I sighed. I was really looking forward to annoying Kakashi today. This sucks. Looks like I'm going out for dinner tonight. I grabbed some of the money and began wandering around the village. I had absolutely no idea where I would find food in this place. Eventually, I stumbled across this place called Ichiraku's Ramen. I LOVE RAMEN! I ran over to find a very familiar blonde in orange.

"NARUTO!" I glomped him. He looked surprised.

"Nami? What are you doing here?" He asked, his mouth full of ramen.

"Kakashi's gone on a mission, so he left me money for food. I've been stumbling around the village for like, an hour, until I found this place!" Naruto beamed.

"You made a good choice! Ichiraku serves the best ramen you'll ever taste!" The man behind the counter laughed.

"You've got that right, Naruto." He turned to me. "I'm guessing you're the new girl everyone has been talking about."

"Oooooh I'm famous now? That's so cool!" The man laughed again.

"So what can I get you today?" He asked.

"I'll take 3 of your biggest bowls of ramen!" I said happily. The man and Naruto's eyes widened. I shrugged.

"I'm hungry." I said bluntly. I was soon served and had ate the ramen in only a few minutes.

"Looks like she can eat the ramen even faster that you, Naruto." The owner said when he saw I was already finished.

"Wow Nami. You really were hungry." Naruto said. I shrugged again.

"I'm always hungry." Suddenly, I had a great idea. "Hey, Naruto, how about you and I go out for a training session together?" He grinned.

"Yeah! Sounds great!" We went out to train together. I practiced my clone jutsu and tried to help Naruto on his, but for some reason he really just couldn't get that one. By the end of the night, we were both exhausted. On our way back home, we ran into someone surprising. Off in another field was the duck butt himself, working his hardest in training. He was throwing kunai at a target, and everytime hit exactly in the middle. He hadn't noticed me and Naruto yet.

"Wow." I said surprised. "He's actually good." Naruto scowled.

"Yeah, but I'm going to be way better than him! Just you wait, Nami!" I laughed.

"Don't worry Naruto, I know you will. You'll easily beat emo duck over there in no time." Suddenly, a kunai was traveling straight towards our heads. "Get down!" I yelled. Knowing Naruto, he wouldn't react quick enough. I pushed him down right in time, but the kunai got stuck in my shoulder. I groaned in pain.

"That was really uncalled for, duck butt." I said clenching my teeth due to the pain. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You two shouldn't have been hiding in the trees."

"Yeah, well, you still shouldn't have thrown a kunai at us!" Naruto yelled. He turned his attention to me, finally noticing my injury. "Oh god, Nami, are you okay?"

"Fine." I grunted. I wrapped my hand around the kunai and pulled it out in one swift motion. It wasn't too deep, so I should be fine. Sasuke looked me up and down.

"You have fast reflexes. You wouldn't have been hit if you didn't have to get Naruto out of the way."

"Well I also wouldn't have been hit if you hadn't _thrown a kunai at us." _This guy was really pissing me off. It was taking everything in me not to attack him. he just turned around.

"Next time, announce yourselves when you decide to watch me train. That way you won't get injured again." He smirked at me before walking away.

"That guy makes me so mad! And he even hurt you, Nami!" Naruto yelled.

"It's okay, Naruto. I'm fine. Do you mind helping me home though?" I asked him smiling.

"Course not! Come on, I'll get you home in no time." He grinned.

Once Naruto had gotten me home, I collapsed on my bed, walking through the garbage area Kakashi called his apartment.

_Tomorrow, I am so cleaning this place up._

* * *

**Me: See Naruto? I told you you would be in the next chapter!**

**Naruto: Yeah, but why the hell is Sasuke in this chapter?! I'm way cooler than him!**

**Me: *sighs* because that emo duck is important to the story. It has nothing to do with your coolness.**

**Sakura: And why isn't Sasuke talking to me? *Pouts***

**Me: Because you're annoying. And he hates you.**

**Sakura: That's not true! Right Sasuke?**

**Sasuke: I couldn't care less about any of this.**

**Me: Really Sasuke? You can't stop being emo for 2 seconds? *sighs* Anyway, Thanks for reading! I love you all! YOURE ALL PERFECT AND PLEASE REVIEW!**

**BROFIST EVERYONE! (This is mostly to my reviewer who asked if I was in the bro army. HELL YEAH I AM) **


	3. Chapter 3

It had been 5 days since I had come to the Leif Village. Naruto and I would go to Ichiraku's every night and then to train, so we had gotten pretty close. I truly believed that one day the kid would become Hokage.

Yeah, I just got all cheesy on you. Deal with it.

Kakashi came back on the second day, and we had bonded quite a bit. By bonding, I mean I annoyed him to the point where he threatened kicking me out (don't worry, he knows he really loves living with me and I told him that) and he made me food. I've sort of made the poor guy broke by all the food he's had to get for me.

Hey, I'm a hungry preteen and I need food. Kakashi is just going to have to deal with it.

I talked to Shikamaru and Kiba a bit, along with a few other people I had met. Choji, who in all honesty whenever I looked at had his face stuffed into a bag of chips (Shikamaru had warned me not to mention the _F word_ around him though), Hinata, who was INCREDIBLY ADORABLE but really shy and probably the only female in the class that didn't want to murder me in my sleep, and Shino. Well, more like I had tried to talk to Shino, but he didn't really talk much. Duck butt and I had glaring contest from time to time, which I always won, of course. The rest of the girls hated y guts, and didn't bother trying to hide it. I didn't particularly like it either, so I didn't have any problem with them.

I've been working really hard on my ninja skills. I really want to be able to graduate from the academy along with my classmates today, so I was working my ass off. I had trained with Gai and his team as well, and I had become quite the taijutsu specialist. My ninjutsu was getting better, but definitely needed some serious work. When I wasn't annoying Kakashi, even he had given me a few lessons.

All in all, I was on my way to becoming a ninja. And it was pretty freaking epic.

"KAKASHI! I'M OFF TO SCHOOL! LERHV YOU!" I called as I began to walk out of our apartment.

"...Please stop yelling."

"No promises, pirate man." I winked at him before closing the door behind me.

* * *

**Sasuke's POV:**

"Alright Nami, you just need to create 1 doppelganger of yourself to pass." Iruka-sensei told her. She nodded eagerly.

"Master Iruka, I feel like Nami shouldn't be taking this exam yet. She's only been here for a week, there's no way she's ready." Sakura said innocently, batting her eyelashes for effect. This earned her an eye roll from Nami, who I knew was really craving to hit Sakura right now.

I knew Sakura was wrong though. I had seen Nami practicing a few times, and though she had only been here for a week, she was as good as the other students, if not better.

Definitely better than Sakura, that's for sure.

"I see what you're saying Sakura, but Nami has been trained personally by 2 skilled Jonin, and knows skills and jutsu none of you do. She has been recommended by both Jonin, and even personally by the Hokage." Iruka told Sakura, making her pale. I smirked. Sakura turned to glare at Nami, who just winked and smiled back at her.

"Now, please go ahead Nami." Iruka said. She nodded, and performed her hand signs perfectly.

Suddenly, 10 perfect clones were standing side by side. The entire class gaped at her, including me. Nami just grinned sheepishly. The clones all struck a pose.

"How'd we do, Iruka-sensei?" They said in unison. He was stunned for a few seconds before composing himself.

"V-very well, Nami. You pass." He said. She grinned even wider, obviously proud of herself, and walked over to grab her headband. She wore it around her forehead, unlike the other girls.

Next I was up, and peformed the jutsu flawlessly. I quickly grabbed my headband, and sneaked a glance at Nami. She was so... different. I didn't know what to think about her. She looked up and noticed me staring, and raised an eyebrow at me. I wished I knew what she was thinking. I turned away and went back to sit down. I doubt I'll ever figure her out.

* * *

**Nami's POV:**

YES! GO NAMI!

If you can't tell, I'm incredibly proud of myself for passing. Kakashi said he knew I would, but I sort of didn't believe him. It was 2 days after the exam, and although Naruto hadn't passed originally, Iruka had given him a late pass. He had told me all about it. Apparently this Mizuki guy tricked Naruto into stealing some super powerful scroll and tried to blame it all on him. He also told Naruto that this 9 tailed beast was sealed inside him, which is why the village hates him so muc. I asked Kakashi about it later, and he explained it to me fully. Anyway, Naruto too down this Mizuki guy with this new jutsu he learned from the scroll. He tried to teach it to me, but I was no where near as good at it as him. i could only create 2 shadow clones, compared to Naruto's almost countless ones.

Today, we were back at the academy and about to learn our new teams.

"On team 7, we have Naruto Uzumaki, Nami Kiyomizu," I grinned at Naruto and we shared a high 5, "Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha."

Oh God no. No. Just no.

The world really hates me, huh?

I groaned and banged my head against the desk. "Why me?" I said to no one. Naruto had a very similar reaction, and jumped out of his seat.

"Iruka-sensei, why does a great ninja like me have to be put on a team with _him_?" He gave a look to Sasuke. I nodded in agreement. Iruka sighed.

"To even out the teams, we put the worst in the class with the best." He said. I groaned again.

We were sure to make one interesting team.

* * *

"I just don't understand why Iruka-sensei put me on the same team as that jerkface Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

"I feel you. I don't want to be on the same team as the emo duck any more than you do. Or his eccentric fangirl." I said.

Naruto and I were sitting on a cliff that overlooked almost all of Konoha. It was a really beautiful sight, and you could see almost all of the village from it. We went there together almost everyday after the academy to hang out. Naruto eyed me strangely.

"What?" I asked him innocently.

"I'm just really not used to you hating him. I haven't met one girl who hasn't fawned over him, believe it!" I laughed. My feet dangled over the cliff, and I kicked them back and forth.

"I don't understand the female race. You're way cooler than him, anyway." I nudged him playfully and he grinned.

Honestly, I wondered about Sasuke. He was always alone, and although so many people wanted to get close to him, he always pushed them away. It seemed so... familiar.

"Uhhhh, Nami? Everything okay there?" Naruto asked, waving his hand in front of my face. I snapped back to reality.

"Yeah, I was just... thinking."

"About what?" I considered telling him, and decided to go for it.

"Honestly, I was thinking about Sasuke. You remember how I told you I don't have any memories outside of my time here?" Naruto nodded before I continued. "It's just that the way Sasuke always pushes people away, it reminds me of myself. I don't quite know why, but I think that before I came here, I was a lot like him." Naruto stayed quiet before saying anything.

"I'm glad you didn't push me away." He said quietly. I smiled.

"Me too, Naruto."

* * *

"Where the flubber is our sensei? Even Iruka-sensei already left!" I groaned impatiently.

"Right?! He should have been here hours ago!" Naruto agreed with me.

"Can you two shut up? You're giving me a headache." Sakura groaned.

"That must suck. It must be a pretty horrible one too, considering the size of your forehead." I said to her. She bolted out of her seat.

"My forehead is not that big!" She yelled.

"Oh yes it is." I laughed. She was about to retort before Sasuke cut her off.

"You're all annoying." He said boredly. I rolled my eyes.

"Look who's talking, duck butt." He glared at me. We had a glaring contest that lasted for about 2 minutes while Sakura and Naruto argued.

"I've got it!" Naruto suddenly announced. I looked over to see him placed an eraser on top of the door, so that when someone finally walked through, it would fall right onto their head.

"Naruto, you're a genius." I said.

"You seriously think a skilled shinobi would fall for that?" Duck butt said, glaring at nothing once again. Sakura nodded like truer words had never been spoken. Naruto and I looked at each other for a few seconds before answering at the same time.

"Yep."

No sooner than the words were spoken, than our new sensei walked through the door, falling straight into the trap.

"Hmm... My first impression of you all... You're all idiots." He said evenly. My eyes lit up and I glomped him.

"Except for me, right Kakashi? Because you looooooveeeee me." I taunted him. He just stood there until I released him. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be my new sensei?" I asked excitedly, jumping up and down. He scratched the back of his head.

"Because I knew you would react like this." He said. I just kept grinning at him. The rest of my team looked incredibly confused. Something clicked in Naruto's head.

"Wait... So this is that Kakashi guy you live with?" Naruto asked slowly. I nodded and grinned at him.

"Yep!" Sakura and Sasuke still looked shocked. Kakashi looked back and forth between his new students.

"Wait... So that's your best friend," he whispered to me while looking at the blonde, "and that's the... other two you've talked so much about?" Kakashi asked. I nodded.

"Yep!" I said again.

"Well um, Nami has told me a lot about the three of you. All... Um... Good things." He said looking at the pinkette and emo. They seemed to doubt that, though. "Come on, let's go to the rooftop to introduce ourselves."

* * *

"Why don't you tell me your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future." Kakashi said when we had all made it to the rooftop.

"Why don't you go first, so that we have an example?" Sakura said. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't see why you need an example, Sakura, it's pretty straight forward." She glared at me.

"Is there a problem with the fact that I want to get to know my sensei better?" She asked meanly.

"Nope. Not at all. But knowing Kakashi, you're not going to learn much at all." She ignored me and looked at Kakashi expectantly.

"Okay... I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and dislike... I don't really feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future... I've never really thought about it. As for my hobbies... I have a lot of hobbies." Sakura sweatdropped.

"We didn't learn anything other than your name..." She muttered. I shrugged.

"I warned you." I said.

"Alright, you on the right. Why don't you go first." Kakashi said, looking at Naruto. He grinned.

"Believe it! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, especially when Iruka-sensei treats me or Nami comes to eat with me! I hate having to wait for my ramen to be ready, though. My hobbie is to try different types of ramen and compare them, and my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage of all time! That way the entire village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody!" I laughed to myself. Naruto sure does love his ramen. I knew that he would achieve his dream someday, though. If anyone could do it, it was him.

"Alright. Next." Kakashi said.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. What I like... I mean the person I like... Uhhh..." She glances at Sasuke who was sitting boredly. "My hobbie... Is uhh..." She giggled to herself. "My dream for the future is...!" She squealed happily. "And I hate Naruto!" She said glaring at him. Naruto made a very pained noise and I rolled my eyes.

"Here Kakashi, I'll translate for you. In Sakuranese that mean I'm in love with Sasuke, my hobbie is stalking the emo duck and watching him sleep, and my dream for the future is to have him actually look in my direction!" I mocked her. Sakura stared at me stunned.

"Th-that's not what I meant at all!" She objected.

"Sureeeee it wasn't." I winked at her.

"Anyway... Next." Kakashi said, trying to ignore us.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I _hate_ a lot of things, and I don't particularly _like_ anything. What I have is not a dream, because I _will_ make it reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone." Everyone stared at him in shock. I rolled my eyes again.

"God Sasuke, can you seriously not say one sentence without sounding like some emo wannabe? It's really getting on my nerves." He glared at me.

"Anyway, I'm Nami Kiyomizu. I like to annoy Kakashi," I winked at him, "and to eat. Food is pretty great. I dislike people who have hair that looks like a duck's butt, and girls who fawn over a guy for no apparent reason. My hobbies... Still eating. Again, food is amazing. I almost feel bad for Kakashi since he has to buy me all my food. And my dream... Hmm... I guess it would be to get my memories back." Sasuke and Sakura looked at me curiously.

"You don't have any memories?" Sakura asked.

"Oh yeah, you two didn't know that. Yeah, I sort of woke up outside the village one day with no memories. That's why I'm living with Kakashi." I said sheepishly. I looked to Kakashi, hoping he would change the subject. Luckily, he did.

"Tomorrow, you four will have your first mission." He said. "A survival exercise."

"Ooooooh sounds mysterious, Kakashi-sensei." I said to him.

"So it's not a mission? We already did stuff like that at the academy!" Sakura whined.

"Oh, but this is not like your other training." Kakashi said.

"How's that?" Naruto asked. Kakashi laughed quietly for a minute. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Come on, Kakashi, stop trying to scare us and tell us what you mean already." I told him.

"You're not going to like it!" He said happily. We just waited for him to continue. "Of the 29 students who graduated from the academy, only 3 teams will officially be given the title of genin. The others, will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it test that will decide your fate as shinobi." I blinked at him and groaned a few seconds later.

"Seriously, Kakashi? Well, this is intense." I looked to my teammates to find they were all stunned.

"Oh, and don't eat breakfast tomorrow or else... You'll puke." He said calmly.

"Sorry Kakashi, but I am so not following that rule. You are _not_ making me skip a meal." I said. He looked at me.

"Well then, you're going to have to make your own breakfast." I fell to my knees.

"NOOO! DON'T DO THIS TO ME KAKASHI! How... could you make me do... Work?!" I said the word like it was foreign to me. He just ignored me.

"That's it. You're dismissed. Be at the training grounds at 5 AM tomorrow." He looked down at me, where I was still on my knees. "Nami? We really need to get home." I groaned.

"Fine. But I am _so_ not talking to you for the rest of the night." I said glaring at him. I said goodbye to Naruto, sent a few more glares to Sasuke and Sakura, and began walking home with my new sensei.


	4. Chapter 4

"Morning everyone. Ready for your first day?"

My 3 teammates jerked up from their previous sleeping positions. I stifled a laugh.

"HEY! YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto yelled.

"Well a black path crossed my path, so I had to take the long way." Kakashi said.

"And what about you, Nami?!" Naruto pointed a finger at me accusingly.

"Well I was walking with Kakashi, so of course I had to take the long way too." My teammates sweatdropped.

In reality, Kakashi had went by to pay his respects to his friends who had died in battle. He had told me about them before, and it made me really sad to think about how all of his friends had died. He let me come with him, and I paid my respects as well. I knew he wouldn't want to let anyone know about this though, so I played along.

"For your excercise, you four will need to steal these bells from me." He dangled three bells in front of us. "If you can't get them by the time limit, i get to tie you to a post and you get to watch as I eat my lunch while you go hungry."

"OH HELL NO. Kakashi, if you think I'm skipping out on a meal-"

"You'll just have to get one of the bells from me then." He said looking at me. I glared at him.

"Wait a minute, there's four of us! How come there's only three bells?" Sakura asked idiotically. I rolled my eyes.

"Isn't it obvious? It's so one of us is _doomed_ to fail." I said dramatically.

"Exactly. One of you will end up tied to the post and going back to the academy no matter what. Then again, all four of you could flunk out. You can use any weapons. But unless you are prepared to kill me, you stand no chance at getting these bells."

"But Kakashi, I could never try to kill you!" I looked at him innocently. "Just kidding! You are _sooooo_ going down Kakashi." I smirked at him.

"When I say start, you can begin." Before he had even finished, Naruto was already charging at him. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. In the blink of an eye, Kakashi had gotten behind Naruto and twisted his arm around so that his own kunai was pointed at the back of his head.

"Now now, don't be so eager. I haven't said start yet." Kakashi said.

"Actually," I corrected him, "you have. Two times now." He sent me a look before continuing.

"But you did come at me with the full intent of killing me. How can I say this... I think I'm actually starting to like you guys." We all smiled. "Get ready. And... Start!" The four of us all jumped into the trees. Less than a minute later, Naruto was standing right in front of Kakashi, challenging him. I facepalmed. That idiot.

"You know, compared to the others, you're a bit... Weird." Kakashi said. I knew there was no chance Naruto could take on this guy alone. I jumped out of my hiding place to join Naruto. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at me. I shrugged.

"Sorry, I just couldn't stand by while you said that. I take pride in being able to call myself the weirdest in our little group." I said as I got into a fighting position and pulled out a kunai.

"Nami, what are you doing?! I can take this guy down, easy! Believe it!" Naruto said.

"No, you can't. Kakashi is a jonin and an extremely skilled one at that, trust me, I've seen it. Our only hope at getting those bells is working together."

"No way! This guy is nothing! Go back to hiding! I don't need your help!" I sighed. I wasn't one to try to help those who didn't want me.

"Fine. Just try not to hurt yourself, alright?"

"I won't, believe it!" I sighed once again an went back to hiding in the trees. I knew Naruto wouldn't be able to take a bell, but if he didn't want my help, then I wasn't going to give it. The moment I was gone, Naruto charged. Before Naruto could do anything, Kakashi pulled out... A book?!

It took everything in me not to burst out laughing. Kakashi though of Naruto as such a small threat that he could read while taking him on. He was probably right about that.

Naruto attacked pointlessly, until Kakashi got behind him once again.

"Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time." He said as he formed a hand sign. I knew Kakashi wouldn't hurt Naruto, but Sakura and Sasuke didn't, and they were probably pretty nervous about now.

"1000 years of death!" Kakashi yelled as he poked Naruto from behind sending him hurtling into a pond.

That was it. I bursted out laughing, completely giving away my hiding place. I was rolling on the ground and clutching my stomach. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Nami, you really shouldn't give away your hiding place so easily." Kakashi said disapprovingly. He began walking towards me, but before he got to close, Naruto bursted from the lake along with 6 perfect clones. I grinned proudly.

"I _will_ surpass the Hokage, and I _will_ become a ninja! I'm going to pass this test, and I'm _not_ going back to the academy!" He yelled as they charged towards him. I noticed another clone sneaking up from behind, and I grinned even wider. Naruto was actually using his head for once. The clone grabbed Kakashi from behind, and another went in for the blow. But before Naruto could strike, Kakashi used a substitution jutsu, and made Naruto attack one of his own clones.

Naruto, thinking Kakashi had used a transformation jutsu, began attacking himself. I facepalmed. He had fell right into Kakashi's trick. Then, Naruto being Naruto, fell into one of the most obvious traps I had ever seen, and was dangling upside down from a tree.

"When the bait is obvious, don't take it. A ninja must see through deception." Kakashi said.

"I... Get... It!" Naruto said, struggling to free himself.

"I'm telling you this because you _don't_ get it. You think you get it, which is entirely different than actually getting it. Get it?"

Suddenly, Kakashi was struck by shuriken, sending him flying. I chuckled when I realized it was only another substitution.

I heard a scream pierce through the air and I knew it was Sakura's. No doubt, Kakashi had probably gotten her with a genjutsu. That left me and the Uchiha, and I had no idea where he was. Looks like I'm in this one alone.

I grinned. This was the perfect chance to try out a jutsu I had been working on.

"Water style: Enveloping Mist!" I said, causing a deep fog to surround the area. I saw Kakashi raise an eyebrow and put away his book.

Good. That means he thinks of me as enough of a threat as to where he can't read.

I pulled out my katana and began walking all badass like towards Kakashi. He narrowed his eyes once I had gotten close enough for him to see me.

"Nami?" He asked surprised. I smiled.

"I'm guessing you underestimated me, huh, Kakashi?" I said as I got into a fighting stance.

"You could say that. When did you learn to do jutsu like this?"

"I've taught myself a few things over the time." I said. "Now, Kakashi, I would be careful not to underestimate me again."

**Kakashi's POV:**

Well, you could say I was shocked.

I didn't understand how Nami could have taught herself a jutsu of this level. She had never showed me that she could do something like this while we were training.

The Hokage had informed me about her, and I had heard the rumors, but I had never really believed it. Nami always acted as such a normal girl, I could never think of her as anything else.

That is, until she was coming at me with no restraints.

She was skilled with a katana. I was even having difficulty blocking her strikes with my kunai. My vision was far worse because of the mist, giving her a good advantage over me.

I had no idea where this strength was coming from. Or rather, how I had not noticed it before. A few minutes later, she was still striking me, and I was still blocking her blows.

"You've never shown strength like this when we were training." I said. She smirked as she brought down her katana for another blow.

"You never asked me to." She replied simply. When she struck once again, I noticed an opening. Placing my kunai at the bass of her katana, I sent it flying out of her hand and across the field. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. I watched her, waiting to see what she would do next.

Her eyes turned a bright shade of blue, as the pupils narrowed until they were only small slits. Her eyes looked just like a cats. Her nails grew longer, and I saw a faint blue aura surround her. She smirked at me.

"Sorry, Kakashi, but by doing that, you've just made things even more difficult for yourself." She said. "We both know I've had a lot of training with Gai-sensei. I specialize in Taijutsu at this point." She smirked once again, and began throwing a series of attacks my way. I even had difficulty blocking them. I managed to throw her back, but she flipped herself over and landed on her feet, one hand on the ground with her knees bent. She skid back a few feet, and when she finally looked back up from the ground, I was almost scared.

Her eyes had grown even brighter, and her chakra was surrounding her in a glowing blue light. When I looked into her eyes, it sent a shiver down my spine. She leaped forward, but it wasn't a human like leap, instead, it was an animalistic leap.

At that point, there was no doubts left in my mind. This was the girl. The sole survivor of the Kiyomizu clan, the girl so many had searched for for years.

And here she was, standing right in front of me.

I leaped back just in time to avoid her kick, but behind me, a shadow clone was waiting for that. It delivered a kick straight onto my back, sending me flying forward.

Who would've guessed? I never believed Nami had this kind of power inside her.

It was only a matter of seconds before she delivered the final blow.

**Nami's POV:**

I smirked as I leaped forward to grab the bells, and had my hand around the three bells before they poofed and vanished from my sight.

I groaned. "I seriously fell for your substitution?" I facepalmed. Kakashi was nowhere to be found, and time was running out. My mist was lessening, and therefore, so was my advantage.

I ran through the forest, hoping I would find Kakashi somewhere. I was running through a clearing, when my foot hit something.

"Seriously?" It said.

"EEP! WHAT THE HE- oh. It's just you, Sasuke." I stared at my teammate, who was wedged in between the Earth, only his head poking out. We stared at each other for a few moments in complete silence.

And then I burst out laughing.

"What... The hell... Happened to you?" I asked in between my laughing fits.

"Kakashi happened." He said glaring at me. I laughed even harder, wiping imaginary tears from my eyes.

"You need some help?" I asked him.

"Like I would need help from you." I shrugged.

"Fine with me." I started walking off, whistling to myself.

"Wait!" He yelled. I turned around, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"...please help me." He said looking down. I grinned and walked back over to him.

"Now that wasn't to hard, was it, duck butt?" I asked him sarcastically, grabbing his head and pulling him out.

"Well then, I'll be off. I still need one of those bells." I said.

"You can see through this mist?" He asked surprised. I chuckled.

"Well, it is my mist, so yeah." I said. His eyes widened.

"You did this?"

"No, it was a ghost." I said sarcastically. "You were stuck here, Sakura was fooled by some genjutsu, and Naruto's tied in a tree. Who else would it have been?"

"I didn't know you could do something like this."

"Yeah, a lot of people seem to be underestimating me lately. But the mist is wearing off, I really need to get going." I was about to leave when he said something else.

"Why do you hate me?"

That surprised me. I didn't expect Sasuke to be the type to care what I thought about him. I looked at him strangely.

"I don't hate you." I said to him. "You just haven't given me a reason to like you yet." This seemed to surprise him, and what he said next also surprised me.

"I'll come with you. Neither of us can get those bells alone. Our only chance is together." I grinned at him.

"You're right. Thanks."

We walked through the forest together, looking for any sign of Kakashi. Eventually, we found him, leaving against a tree and reading that book of his. I turned to Sasuke.

"Alright. There's a pretty good chance he already knows we're here, or that that's a shadow clone. We should attack together. Hopefully he won't be able to block one of us, and then we'll know if it's a shadow clone if he disappears." He nodded.

"Ready... And... Now!" I yelled. We both leaped forward but were blocked effortlessly by our sensei. He looked up from his book surprised.

"I'm impressed. You actually managed to work together." He said putting away his book. Sasuke and I smirked.

"I've sort of put together that's the whole point of this excercise." I said shrugging. Kakashi looked at me surprised, and Sasuke and I took that as our chance to strike. We leaped forward, him with a kunai in hand and me with my katana. We attacked our sensei countless times, but he dodged it all easily.

Just when it looked like we were getting nowhere, Kakashi landed a kick on Sasuke, sending him flying backwards. Kakashi watched to see if he was going to get back up. When he didn't, he walked over to the spot where Sasuke should have been, temporarily forgetting about me, only to find a log in his spot.

Using Kakashi's distraction, Sasuke and I had hidden in the trees. Before he could notice us, we leapt out once again. Sasuke flew at him from above, and he never noticed me coming at him from behind. I kicked straight into the back of his knees, causing him to lost his balance. He still had to block Sasuke's attack, and while he was distracted, I took my katana and slice the thread holding the bells to his belt.

The bells went tumbling to the ground.

Kakashi noticed this, and tried to get them back, but it was too late. Using the tip of my katana, I pitched the bells into the air, catching the three in my hand, smirking as I did. Sasuke sent me a quick grin which I returned. At that moment, the timer went off.

Kakashi looked back and forth between the two of us.

"I never expected you to work together, let alone actually get the bells. I'm proud." He smiled at us. "I underestimated the two of you, and that was my downfall. Come on, we should meet up with the others.

We made our way back to the stumps, where we found Naruto tied to a post. I elbowed him playfully.

"Come on Naruto, you were supposed to give me your lunch!" I said teasing him. He glared at me.

"Like I would've given you my lunch, believe it!" I giggled and sat down with Sasuke and Sakura. We looked up at our sensei, waiting to hearing his verdict.

"Well, I've decided only one of you will be going back to the academy." He said.

"Which one?" Sakura asked carefully.

"Nami holds three bells." Sakura's and Naruto's eyes widened. "Sasuke helped her get them, meaning that they are both safe. That leaves one of you." He looked between Sakura and Naruto. Sakura looked incredibly down, believing she already knew who I would pick. Kakashi turned to me.

"In the ninja world, you will be faced with many situations much like this. For example, Sakura, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies. Nami, if you want to stop her, you have to kill her." The four of us gaped at him.

"There will be instances on missions where one of you is captured, and you will have to make a decision like this. There is no easy way out. You four need to understand that this is no game. As a shinobi, your life will be on the line at every second. You have to be prepared for that.

"I want you to think about that over lunch, and about your decision, Nami." He looked at me. "Naruto does not get any food though, since he tried to steal. My word is law. I do not expect time disobeyed." Kakashi ordered before he poofed away. The second he was gone, I heard Naruto's stomach growl. I groaned.

"Naruto, if this doesn't show how much I love you, I don't know what will." I said as I held up some of my food for him to take. He stared at me like I was possessed.

"You're giving me... Food?" He asked. I nodded.

"I guess so. I even surprise myself." I shook my head. "Take it. I'm not going to sit here and watch my best friend starve anytime soon." I said smiling at him.

"But Kakashi said not to!" Sakura objected. I rolled my eyes.

"Stop being a goody two shoes. Naruto's our friend and teammate. I don't know how either of you can just sit here while he starves." Sasuke sighed.

"Here." He said begrudgingly, giving Naruto some of his food as well. This made Naruto's eyes almost pop out of their sockets, but he took the food gratefully. Sakura followed as well, and I was thrilled that we were finally acting like a team. My happiness was short lived though, when Kakashi reappeared in front of us, looking very menacing.

"I thought I told you not to give Naruto food!" He said angrily. I smirked inside my head. I knew Kakashi, and I could tell he was playing some sort of game with us. He was testing us, and he wanted to know if we would react the way he wanted us to.

"Yeah, but we're a team now! And that makes us one!" Sakura said proudly. Those words actually made me hate her a little less. I smiled at her. Kakashi turned his attention to me, still looking pretty scary.

"And Nami? What about your decision?" I smiled at him, and threw the three bells to my teammates. Kakashi looked at me, waiting for an explanation. I shrugged.

"I've been here for a week. These three have been working for this far longer than I have. It would be completely wrong for me to take this from any of them."

My three teammates looked shocked at my words.

"Here." They all said together, holding out their bells for me to take. When they noticed they were all doing the same thing, they looked at each other surprised. I stared at the three of them, stunned that they would go back to the academy for me. Kakashi smiled widely at the four of us.

"You all pass." He said.

"HUH?" We all said together.

"You all pass." He repeated.

"So it was a test on teamwork, huh?" I said looking at my sensei. He nodded.

"In the ninja world, those who break the world are scum. But those who would ever abandon a friend, are worse than scum. Tomorrow, your real duties as ninja begin!" He turned to me. "I'm proud of you, Nami." He ruffled my hair and I grinned. "You'll never catch me underestimating you again. I have to go out on a mission, and I probably won't be back until very late tonight. Please, don't destroy the village."

I winked at him. "No promises, pirate man."

* * *

**WHY HELLO THERE  
**

**I sort of stayed up all night so I'm quite exhausted right now. Anyway, one of my reviewers pointed out that it was strange that my oc knew how to use the shadow clone jutsu, so I went back and weakened that. I previously had it where that whole think with Iruka and Mizuki never happened, which probably wasn't a very good move since Naruto would still be oblivious to being a jinchuruki. So I went back and changed that too, so thanks to my reviewer who mentioned that.**

**This is why I absolutely love reviews. My ultimate goal in all of this is to grow as a writer, and reviews always help me find the flaws in my writing so that I can grow.**

**So a huge thank you to the three reviews I have on this story! I really wish you guys could see my smile everytime I see I have a new review. It's pretty huge.**

**So please review, favorite, or follow! I LERHV YOU ALL**


	5. Chapter 5

"Nami, point D."

"Sakura, point B."

"Sasuke, point C."

"Naruto, point A. Believe it!"

"Alright... Ready... Now!" Kakashi said. We all leaped from our positions, attempting to capture the poor kitty.

"I've got him, I've got him!" Naruto squealed. The cat was attacking his face, and doing it's best to escape his grasp. I giggled to myself.

"Here, give him to me." I said gently, holding out my arms. Naruto obliged quickly, handing me the cat. The second it was in my arms, it stopped struggling, and purred contently. I pet it happily.

"Well your really just a big sweetheart, aren't you?" I asked smiling. The cat purred once again in reply.

"Wow, Nami, you're really good with animals." Sakura said.

"Am I?" I asked absentmindedly. Naruto nodded quickly.

"Yeah! That cat's the devil, and yet the second you held it, it calmed down, believe it!" I laughed.

"I guess I am." I noticed Kakashi and Sasuke were watching me intently, so I quickly changed the subject. "We should probably get him back to his owner then."

I flinched as the old woman squeezed the life out of her poor cat.

"That stupid cat deserves it!" Naruto yelled.

"I don't think anyone deserves that, Naruto." I said. Sakura nodded.

"Well at least now we know why it ran away." She said.

"For your next mission, we have several available D-rank missions, among them babysitting-" the Hokage began until Naruto interrupted him.

"NO WAY! I am not doing another babysitting job, believe it! Those kids are all brats!" Iruka-sensei glared at him.

"Naruto! You're still genin, and you will be assigned missions as such!" He said. I groaned.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with him, Iruka-sensei. We're ninja, and yet you're sending us on babysitting jobs and to find lost cats? It's pathetic." Iruka sensei glared at me.

"You are all still new ninja! You have almost no experience and-" I stopped him.

"How exactly do you expect us to gain experience from the missions we've been going on?" I asked him. He didn't seem to have an answer to that.

"Yeah! I'm going to become Hokage one day, and you guys are sending me out on puny missions like this!" Naruto said. Iruka was about to scold him again, until the Hokage interrupted him.

"It's alright. Naruto wants us to know that he is not a brat, but a former brat, and he wants a mission, and so does Nami. So be it." I laughed when I saw everyone's reactions, which was pure shock. "I'll give you a C-rank mission. You'll be guards on a mission." I broke out into a smile.

"Oh! What kind of person are we guarding?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah! Is it a princess, or some important business guy?" Naruto said.

"Don't be impatient. I'll bring him in." The Hokage said. I turned to the door and saw an old man walk in. He scowled at the sight of us.

"I'm supposed to entrust my life to these kids? How are they even ninja?" He asked.

It was official. I really did not like this guy.

I laughed at him.

"Trust me old man, we'll take care of you just fine." I said bitterly. Kakashi sent me a look saying to watch my mouth. I rolled my eyes. The old man looked at me, and then at the rest of my team, until his eyes landed on Naruto.

"Especially the little blonde one. He doesn't look like he can fight at all." Naruto looked at me, and after realizing we were the same height, grinned. I made sure to correct him.

"He's talking about you." I said simply.

"How do you know? We're the same height, and we're both blonde!" He exclaimed. I smirked.

"Well yeah... But I'm just way to awesome to be insulted." I said making a peace sign. The old man looked at me again.

"Yeah, I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about that one." He said looking at Naruto.

"That's it!" Naruto yelled, trying to pounce on the man. He would have, if Kakashi hadn't grabbed him by the collar.

"No, no. You do not attack the person you were told to protect." He scolded. Naruto frowned, but stopped trying to attach the man. I laughed and turned to him.

"Old man... You've just made this trip a living hell for yourself."

* * *

I was walking behind the rest of the group right now, toning out Tazuna's and Naruto's arguing.

Sasuke started walking beside me, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You trying to tone them out too?" He asked me. I nodded.

"I'm really just not in the mood for any of it right now."

"I'm never in the mood." I smiled.

"I never would have guessed. I mean, you're always just this ball of sunshine." I said lightheartedly. He smirked. I stared at him for a minute.

"What?" He asked.

"Well, it's just, you're talking to me. And you haven't glared at me once yet. It's different." I said.

"Is it really that strange that I would want to talk to you?"

"Actually, yes, it is. But it's a nice change." I smiled at him. My foot felt something wet. I looked down to see a puddle.

Wait a second.

A puddle? In the middle of summer? When it hadn't rained in days?

I looked at Kakashi, who was looking back at me. I sent him a look saying 'you saw that, right?' He sent me an almost invisible nod, telling me to keep quiet. A few minutes later, chains popped out, tearing Kakashi into pieces.

I would have been freaking out, had we not noticed that puddle earlier. Kakashi had been anticipating this. He would be fine. I scanned the situation. Sakura was guarding Tazuna, and I knew Sasuke would help her if she needed it. But when I saw Naruto, I realized things were bad.

He had completely frozen up, and a ninja was charging towards him. Before he could get hit, I jumped in front of him, taking the hit for him, a slash across the cheek. Not wen flinching from the hit, I took my katana and made a deep cut on his leg, rendering him helpless. Before I could do anything else, the ninja were thrown far away by the one and only gravity defying hair man. I grinned.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're alive!" I rolled my eyes.

"No, Sakura, he's a zombie. Duh." I said. She glared at me.

"Nami, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get hurt. And I didn't think you would freeze up like that Naruto." He said to my blonde best friend. He turned back to me. "Are you okay?" He asked, his eyes filled with concern. You know, or eye, if you want to be technical, since the other one was covered up. I shrugged it off.

"Course! This is nothing." I said smiling. I wasn't lying. I barely felt the wound. Kakashi's eyes widened. "What is it?" I asked.

"Your wound... It's already closing!" Sakura said. I reached my hand to my cheek to look for the wound. Sure enough, she was right. My cheek was smooth and cut free. I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"What the hell?" I said looking around for help. Everyone else looked as confused as I was. "It's like I never got it..." I observed. I noticed Kakashi looked like he knew something. I looked at him, hoping for an explanation. He just shook his head.

"I'm sure it was nothing." He said. Once everyone was sure I was okay, Sasuke decided to tease Naruto.

"Hey, you're not hurt are you?" He asked, sarcasm evident in his voice. "Scaredy cat." I stepped forward before Naruto could say anything in reply. I growled at Sasuke.

"Shut up. We all make mistakes. So please, stop acting all high and mighty and like you never have." He stared at me before turning away.

"Nami! Stop scolding Sasuke!" Sakura said to me. I rolled my eyes.

"He needed it. I'm not going to let someone disrespect my best friend and get away with it. Besides, he's not five. He can handle a little scolding without getting his oh so valuable feelings hurt." I said bitterly. Sakura huffed and turned away. Sasuke looked at me strangely before turning away as well.

"They're chunin of the village hidden in the mist." Kakashi said after tying the ninja to a tree.

"How did you know about our ambush?" One asked. I snorted.

"You guys thought you were being discrete? There was a puddle in the middle of summer when it hadn't rained in days. That should be impossible. It wasn't that hard to figure out." Sasuke looked at me strangely _again_, and Sakura and Naruto stared at the ground sheepishly. Kakashi looked at me proudly.

"Why did you let the genin do the fighting?" Tazuna asked Kakashi. I answered for him.

"Well we needed to figure out what they after. There were two possibilities. They were attacking us, ninja, or _you_." I said poking Tazuna. "They were obviously after you. So Mr. Tazuna, it looks like you've got some explaining to do!" I said happily.

* * *

Tazuna explained the entire situation to us. By the end, there were tears gathering in my eyes.

"You're... You're such a good person!" I yelled glomping him. He tried to push me off, but it was no use.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Bridge Builder! I've completely misjudged you!" I let go and looked up at him for a few seconds with my best puppy dog eyes. He glared at me for a second, but reluctantly gave in. He sighed.

"It's alright kid. You're forgiven." He said ruffling my hair. I beamed.

"You really should have told us this earlier. We would have assigned higher ranked ninja." Kakashi said.

"I know, but we didn't have any money to pay for a higher ranked mission. So we filed it as a C-rank. I'm sorry, but if you all leave me now, I'll be dead in an instant." Tazuna said.

"Well then, we can't leave you now, right guys? We took this mission. There's no going back on it now." I said. Sakura smiled.

"Yeah! We'll protect you!" She said.

"Of course! I never go back on my word, believe it!" Naruto grinned. Sasuke just nodded, which was as good a response from him as any.

"Well then, looks like you're keeping your guards." Kakashi said.

* * *

"Over there!" Naruto yelled, throwing his kunai to a random spot. The six of us had traveled through the water safely on a boat, and were now on the land of waves. Naruto was trying to be a cool kid, and was throwing kunai around randomly. This time though, he had successfully impaled a poor, innocent, rabbit.

Yes. A rabbit.

Naruto ran over to the poor creature, immediately apologizing to it.

"NARUTO YOU IDIOT!" Sakura yelled, hitting him on the head. "You can't just go around throwing kunai!"

"Poor little guy." I said sadly. "He was probably just hopping around, having a lovely bunny day, and then BAM! Struck by a kunai." Kakashi shook his head.

"You say the most unpredictable things." He said. My team nodded in agreement. I fist bumped the air.

"Achievement! That makes me even more epic." I struck a pose. Sasuke snorted, Sakura rolled her eyes, and Naruto flashed me a thumbs up.

"Uhm guys? Is anyone else noticing this extremely dark atmosphere and fog that is currently surrounding us and seems to be foretelling our impending doom?" I asked. My team looked around nervously.

"Duck!" Kakashi yelled, and I pushed down Tazuna and Sakura just in time. When I looked back up, the sword was stuck in a tree, and on it, was a pretty bad ass looking guy.

Except for the fact that he was missing eyebrows. How could you live without eyebrows?! They're supposed to be the window to your eyes... HIS EYES HAD NO WINDOW AND IT BUGGED ME.

Err wait... Actually I think it's something like the eyes are the window to your soul and the eyebrows are the frame... Oh well!

"Okay. Really. Where the hell are your eyebrows?" I asked him, not able to hold it in. My team sweatdropped. I turned to them. "What? I'm curious." I shrugged. Suddenly, his sword was hurtling over my head once again.

"Okay. Not nice. That was really uncalled for. I was just asking a legitimate question." I said bitterly. The man looked at me.

"Well will you look at that? Your eyes... The moment I released my mist they began changing. They look just like a cat's." He smirked. My team all looked at my eyes, each of them looking shocked. "Don't tell me... You couldn't be part of the Kiyomizu clan, could you?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"Sorry bro, I have no clue what you're talking about. I mean, cat eyes? You're one weird dude. But how do you know my last name?" I asked him. He  
laughed.

"So then it's true! And if you're a member of the Kiyomizu clan... Then that would make you the sole survivor. The prophecy child." A sadistic smiled appeared on his face.

"Okay, really, I don't know what you're on, but you've been talking absolute nonsense for the last few minutes." I said narrowing my eyes at him. He laughed again.

"So the copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake, has not only been lugging around the prophecy child, but hasn't told her one single thing about herself." I waited for Kakashi to say something to deny what he was saying, but he just stiffened at his accusations.

"I believe that girl will be quite useful to me. I might just take her for myself." The man said. I noticed he sent a look into the trees and I wondered why. Kakashi scowled.

"I won't let you touch her." He said bitterly. "Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the hidden mist. I know about you as well, and I will not let you touch Nami."

"I'm afraid, copy ninja, that you will not have a choice in the matter." Suddenly, the mist grew even thicker, and Zabuza disappeared from view. It was deathly silent, until Zabuza's voice came cutting through the air.

"Liver, lungs, spine, jugular, brain, kidneys, and heart. Now which will be my kill point?" We were all shocked into silence. Except me of course.

"Well, in all honesty, the heart would probably be the easiest." I said nonchalantly. My team all sweatdropped. I shrugged. "I speak nothing but the truth." Zabuza's laughter rung through the air.

"You're an amusing one. It will be fun to keep you around." He taunted. Kakashi glared and lifted up his headband for reveal a pretty strange looking eye.

"You'll have to get through me, first." He said. "All of you, protect the bridge builder! I taught you teamwork, now use it. And Nami, get in the back." I groaned.

"But Kakashi-sensei, I want to fight!" I whined.

"This is not the time, Nami. He's after you, and I need to protect you." Knowing that he wasn't going to budge on the issue, I nodded.

"Alright. But as soon as this is over, you are explaining whatever the hell it was Zabuza keeps going on about." He nodded reluctantly. The four of us got in formation. My eyes widened when I saw Sasuke lifting his kunai, and about to plunge it into himself.

Before he could do anything though, I grabbed his hand with my own, stopping him from moving. He turned to me, his face covered with terror. I smiled at him.

"You don't need to do that. Kakashi's going to protect us. And it's not like we can't defend ourselves. We're ninja of the hidden leif village, and we have to live up to that title now." I said reassuring him.

"She's right, Sasuke. I will not allow any of my comrades to die. Trust me." He smiled at us, and Sasuke put down his kunai. I sighed in relief. Zabuza's voiced pierced through the air once again.

"Oh Kakashi, I wouldn't make promises you can't keep."

* * *

**Well hello all you beautimaful smexy souls.**

**I love you. **

**Just wanted to put that out there. **

**So! The chapter. Things are picking up, right? What do you think about Nami? I really like her character, and I hope you all do too. I think I'm going to sprinkle some romance in this story here and there, but with whom? That tis the question.**

**I felt like there was something I meant to say in this author's note, but I have absolutely no idea what it was. Please, forgive my absolutely horrid memory of mine. And ADHD. That probably has something to do with-**

**OMG LOOK A BUTTERFLY**

**Yeah, there's absolutely no point to this note.**

**EXCEPT FOR ME REMINDING YOU HOW I LOVE YOU FROM THE BOTTOMEST DEPTHS OF MY SOUL**

**Wait, I take that back. I'm a ginger in real life. Gingers don't have souls. Duh.**

**To all my beautiful gingers, do not take offense. Only I, the most heartless and viscious ginger of all time has no soul. The rest of you have unicorns and butterflies dancing around in your stomach. (In case you didnt know thats where your soul is located)**

**I told you there was no point to this.**

**Why are you still here? Am I really that amusing?**

**Well of course I am. I am perfection without a soul and placed into a ginger body.**

**Yeah, I'm probably far weirder than Nami is ever going to be.**

**Im gonna go now before I scare you all away.**

**NO WAIT PLZ DONT LEAVE ME ILYSM**

**okay. im really leaving this time. and for future refrence, every one of my authors notes make complete sense and have a definite purpose. dont forget it.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh, Kakashi, you shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Zabukza mocked. Suddenly, I realized I could see him. He was waiting patiently on the branch of a tree, eyeing us. "It's already over." He said, leaping from his postition.

"He's coming on Sakura's side!" I yelled. But it was already too late. He had breached the formation, and was less than a second away from striking. Yet before he could do anything, Kakashi had stabbed him with a kunai, keeping his promise after all. The body revealed itself to be nothing but a water clone, leaving us all to wonder where the real one was hiding. Zabuza's elephant sized sword ripped through the air, slicing Kakashi in half. Sakura screamed dramatically, but stopped when we realized it had only been another clone. I let out of a sigh of relief.

When I refocused, Kakashi was standing behind Zabuza, and held a kunai to his throat.

"I told you. I will not allow you to hurt my comrades. It's over." He said dramatically. Zabuza chuckled.

"If only it were that easy." Zabuza said. Kakashi pressed his kunai to the ninja's throat, only to find it was another clone, causing him to groan. I watched the battle anxiously. I was worried for Kakashi. This guy he was up against was strong, but if anyone could defeat him, it would be Kakashi.

Zabuza charged from behind Kakashi, and Kakashi dodged by jumping into the lake. Zabuza grinned, and I knew instantly that was just what he had wanted.

"Water style: Water prison jutsu!" Zabuza yelled, and Kakashi's eyes widened when he was pulled out of the water, trapped. I saw panic in his eyes, which quickly spread to me.

"What do you plan on doing now, copy ninja?" Zabuza said smirking, raising a nonexistent eyebrow.

"Guys! Get out of here! Take the bridge builder, and get far away from here! His clone can't go far from the real body, so if you get far enough away from here, you'll be safe!" Kakashi yelled to us. For a minute, I actually considered taking his offer. This guy, Zabuza, was the real deal. He could take us down easily. Maybe running away was our only hope after all.

But when I took another look at my sensei trapped in his jutsu, I knew that wasn't an option. Now now, not tomorrow, not _ever_, would I leave a friend behind. I smiled to Kakashi, and was surprised to see Sasuke was joining me.

"We can't do that. We have to save you, obviously." Sasuke said smirking. Kakashi began to shake his head quickly, but before he could say anything, I joined in.

"You taught us a valuable lesson, Kakashi, one that we will never forget. Those who break the rules are scum, but those who would ever abandon one of their friends are far worse. Don't you remember?" I perched in a fighting stance, swinging a kunai around my finger.

"No way are we leaving you behind, believe it!" Naruto added.

"Yeah! You're our sensei, and without you, we stand no chance against this guy. We need you!" Sakura smiled, saying something useful for once.

"You need to go! This guy is on a whole different level, you don't stand a chance!" Kakashi said desperately.

"Tsk, tsk, Kakashi. I thought I warned you on underestimating me?" I said to him.

"You seriously believe you have a chance?" Zabuza chuckled before looking at me. "Well, at least I'll get to see the precious Kiyomizu girl in action. Consider this your test, little girl." I smirked.

"Fine with me." I felt my eyesight grow sharper, my hearing enhanced. My senses were overwhelming, it was as if I could do anything. Zabuza once again raised his place-where-an-eyebrow-should-be-but-isnt-for-whatever-reason at me.

"You truly are the lost child of the Kiyomizu clan." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"I realize I should probably give a damn about all of that, but I really don't. Because in the end, I'll drag the information out of you anyway." I said darkly. Zabuza grinned at me. My friends had joined my side, and seemed ready for battle. Zabuza shook his head.

"No, no, that won't work out at all. I care about the girl, not you three brats." He said. When I looked at my friends, I saw something that made my heart almost stop.

Another Zabuza clone was standing directly behind Sakura, a kunai pressed tightly against her throat. She tried to look strong for us, but I could tell she was terrified. She squeaked quietly.

"No!" Kakashi yelled from his prison.

"Now," he looked to Naruto and Sasuke. "If either of you dares take one step, I will slice this kunai deep into her throat without blinking. I wouldn't doubt me, if I were you." I didn't doubt him. And judging by Naruto and Sasuke's faces, they didn't either. They were frozen to their spot. Tazuna stood helplessly off to the side. I felt indescribable anger enveloping my body.

"First, you threaten Tazuna, who has done _nothing_ to you. By doing that, you threaten this entire village." I growled. I noticed a deep blue chakra surround, so dark it almost looked black, leaking off bloodlust.

"And now you _dare_ threaten my sensei, _and_ my friends? You are going to regret that for the rest of your life." I spit at him angrily. I turned my attention to the real Zabuza, who held my sensei prisoner. I charged at him, but before I could touch him, a clone jumped in front of my path. I attacked him relentlessly, pushing him farther back with each blow. I smirked as I forced him back with each hit, but I could feel my moves weakening.

Whatever had happened to me, whatever energy I had been given, was being taken away. I felt myself growing weaker almost immediately, my strokes becoming strained and slow.

But I had to take out the clone holding onto Sakura before I went out. Hopefully I would exhaust my chakra enough so that he would only be able to maintain 1 clone, and my team would be able to handle it after that. I believed in them.

My fancy shmancy chakra was all gone at this point. All that was left was my own, regular strength. And so I used it. I pushed back the clone I was currently fighting, not quite strong enough to make him disappear, but strong enough to get him away from me.

I jumped up into the air, flipping and landing right behind the Zabuza holding Sakura. Before he had time to react, I ripped the kunai from his hand and Sakura's throat, and dove it straight into his back, causing him to return to water. Good. She was safe. As annoying as she could be, when I thought of her in danger, I felt horrible.

Strange, huh? Funny how people fool themselves into thinking that others mean nothing to them, when in reality, it's the opposite. I collapsed to my knees and looked up to see my teammates all fine.

I wonder if that's how Sasuke feels? Him and I... We act like polar opposites, yet I know that we're similar in more ways than one. Maybe, just like me, he cares about his comrades more than himself. All he needs is the right chance to show it. I hope that never changes.

"Thank God... You're all safe..." I said smiling as I fell into a deep slumber.

"Nami."

HOLY CRAP

MR. DREAM MAN'S BACK

...Totally didn't see that one coming.

Standing right in front of me, was the very first memory I had. He looked about my age, maybe a little older. He had blonde hair just like mine, and light blue eyes.

The room we were in was just like before. Complete nothingness, other than the boy standing right in front of me, and myself. Really, this is my dream. I should be able to dream up something more... Fabulous.

"Woah. Freaky. You're that guy from my dream." I stated. "So mind telling me who the hell you are this time?" He stared at me.

"That will be revealed in-"

"In time, yeah yeah. I know. So what _can_ you tell me?" I interrupted. He smiled faintly.

"I am not the one who is meant to give you answers."

"Ummmm okayyyyyyy." I said eyeing him strangely. This guy is weird. He just appears in my head, and starts giving me all these cryptic answers? Jerk. "...Pretty please?" I asked, giving him my best puppy dog eyes. No one can resist the puppy dog eyes.

...Except Mr. Cryptic Answers.

"No." He answered simply. I crossed my arms.

"...flubber nuggets." I muttered under my breath. "That always works..." He chuckled.

"I may not be able to give you answers. It is not my role. But that doesn't mean others won't." My eyes widened in excitement. "But your allies will not be the ones to answer your questions." I tilted in my head in confusion.

"Wait... Then... You want me to go to my enemies?!" I asked astounded. He shook his head.

"I want you to go to those you _believe_ to be your enemies."

"So... You don't mean... Zabuza?!" I said. He nodded. "But he has a giant sword that could cut me in half like a bug! It's scary!" I whined.

"That is the only way for you to learn of yourself. But it is your choice whether to go or not." He said.

"So it's either I don't learn anything, or I run straight into the hands of my enemy." I paused for a moment. "...Damn you. And damn my natural curiosity too! You knew how this would work out since the beginning, didn't you?!" I pointed a finger at him accusingly. He only chuckled again.

"Our time is up, once again. Be careful, my dear Nami." His face began fading away from my sight.

"Wait!" I yelled after him. "You're real, right? I can't be imagining all of this. Right?" I asked. He smiled.

"That, Nami, is for you to decide."

And then he was gone.

* * *

**Yes, I know, this chapter was really short. But I've had some horrible writers block going on, so if this chapter is bad I'm terribly sorry.**

**A lot had been going on in my life lately, and so there may be breaks between chapters. I'll do my best to post regularly for because I just love you all so much. 3**

**Hearing from you always puts me in a better mood and motivates me to write more. So please, review, favorite, and follow!**

**I lerhv you all ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

"Naruto, you need to calm down. Kakashi-sensei said that she was going to be fine."

"I know that, but have you seen him Sakura? It's like he doesn't believe his own words! He's just as worried as I am!"

I opened my eyes and everything that happened came rushing back to me. The fight with Zabuza, the mystery guy, and how I'm supposed to seek him out.

"It doesn't matter! She's going to be fine!" I heard Sakura say.

"How do you know that?" My best friend yelled in reply. I groaned.

"Come on guys, I think I deserve a better welcome back party than you two arguing." I said as I struggled to sit up. Their faces lit up as soon as they saw me.

"Nami!" They yelled together, rushing over to help me sit up.

"You're awake!" Sakura said happily.

"No, I'm still sleeping." I said sarcastically. Sakura just kept grinning. I eyed her strangely. "Well that's weird. You should be glaring at me by now." Suddenly, I was being glomped by my blonde best friend. I hugged him back.

"Well, you've been asleep for 2 days, so nothing you do could make us mad at you right now, believe it!" He said. My eyes widened. As soon as Naruto had let go of me, Sakura had hugged me tightly.

"Nami... Thank you. You saved me." She said shakily. "I was so scared that you weren't going to wake up..."

"Hey, don't count me out so quickly. I'm not done with annoying you, pinkette." I said smirking. She smiled at me.

"Anyway, you guys said I've been out for 2 days?" They nodded. "Woah. That's intense. What'd I miss?"

"Well, after you saved me, you collapsed. Thanks to you taking out one of the clones, Sasuke and Naruto were able to free Kakashi-sensei. He fought Zabuza and won, but before he killed him, a tracker from the hidden mist village killed Zabuza instead and took the body away. Kakashi's been resting since he used the sharingan so much. We're at Tazuna's right now." Sakura told me. I narrowed my eyes.

"Sakura, how did this tracker kill Zabuza?" I asked her.

"Huh? Well, he struck him with these needles. Why?"

"He's not dead." I said confidently. My team looked at me, obviously not believing.

"What're you talking about? How do you know?" Naruto asked.

"It's just..." My mind traveled to the boy in my dreams. I couldn't tell them about him, and I definitely couldn't tell them he told me to talk to Zabuza. "A feeling." Before they could question me further, I changed the subject.

"So where's the rest of the team? I haven't gotten to annoy them for 2 days." I said grinning. Sakura nodded.

"I'll go get them!" She yelled, running out of the room. I looked over to Naruto, who was about to say something, before pounding was heard coming towards the room. The door flew upon, and Kakashi and Sasuke stood in the doorway looking frantic. When their eyes landed on me, Sasuke smirked and Kakashi walked over to me.

"Thank God... I don't know what I would have done if you weren't all right." He said as he hugged me.

"WOAH! Kakashi, you actually hugged me willingly for once! This is huge!" I yelled happily. Sasuke walked over to join us.

"Took you long enough to wake up, idiot." He said smirking. I smirked back.

"Oh come on duck butt, you know you missed me. Just admit it." I said, elbowing him playfully.

"Never in a million years." He said quickly.

"Someone's in denial!" I said in a singsong voice. Kakashi smiled and Sakura giggled.

"Well I missed you lots Nami, believe it!" Naruto yelled.

"I do. It's impossible to not miss me. Right, Sasuke?" I said winking at him. He rolled his eyes.

It was time to get serious.

"Kakashi." I said looking at my sensei. "Zabuza's not dead. I'm guessing you already knew that, though." His eyes widened slightly, but he nodded.

"Yes."

"WHAAAAA?" Naruto and Sakura yelled.

"But his heart stopped! You said it yourself, right Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said.

"That was only a temporary affect. Think about it. Trackers are supposed to dispose of corpses immediately, but this one didn't. Instead it took the body away. And what weapon did he use?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke's eyes widened in realization.

"Senbon needles." He said. Kakashi nodded.

"Exactly. Which can be used to kill, but only if they strike an internal organ. _Not_ the neck. By knowing this, we can conclude that the tracker wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza, he was trying to _save_ him." Kakashi said. Naruto started shaking with excitement.

"So," I said, "what are we going to do about this?" I asked. Kakashi laughed.

"I'll train you." He said. "Except you, Nami. You need to rest." I laughed.

"That's a good one Kakashi. I've rested for 2 days. I think I'll be good on rest for a while."

"Nami, we can't let something like this happen again. We need to-"

"The best way to make sure something like this doesn't happen again is for me to get stronger. I am going out to train with you, and there's nothing you can do about it." I said firmly. Kakashi sighed in defeat, knowing I wasn't going to budge.

"Hold up! Some last minute training isn't going to make us able to take down Zabuza! You could barely defeat him, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura objected.

"Sakura, the only reason I was able to stop Zabuza was because you all helped me. You've grown. You're becoming true ninja, who will be able to defeat Zabuza. I know it."

I grinned, along with Naruto. Sakura still looked unsure, and Sasuke wore that blank expression of his. At that moment, Tazuna walked in.

"Kid! You're up!" He said smiling at me. "Good. I trust you more than those other 3 brats." I giggled and nudged Sasuke and Naruto.

"Hear that? I'm more trustworthy that you." I said to them.

"Nami!" Naruto whined. Sasuke choose to stay quiet and glare at nothing. I sighed and shook my head.

Kakashi ended up telling Tazuna how Zabuza was still alive. I zoned out during most of it. I decided that after our training I would talk to Kakashi and figure out what he knows about my past. If he didn't end up telling me anything, I would follow dream man's advice and go to Zabuza. I knew that things could go really wrong if I did that, but something about that guy in my dream told me to trust him.

"We'll start training later today. Will everyone be ready?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course! I'm going to get super strong and take down Zabuza easy! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed, standing up. I giggled.

"I don't believe it! You're all going to die! Gato and his men are going to kill you! There's no such thing as a hero!" I stared at the little boy who had suddenly entered the room, not knowing what to say.

"Inari!" Tazuna said smiling.

"Hi grandpa!" Inari said back, running over to hug him.

"There is too such thing as a hero! I'm going to be Hokage one day, and I'm going to save this village, believe it!" Naruto told the kid. I watched the kid sadly, and I couldn't help but wondering what had made him think that way.

"You're just full of stupid ideas." Inari said. "I'm going to look at the ocean. I want to be alone." The boy said as he walked out of the room leaving us all stunned.

"I'm sorry about my grandson." Tazuna said sadly. "He's been through some horrible things that no kid should ever have to go through."

I could tell just by looking at the kid that he had suffered. I wanted to help him, even if it was only a little. I would probably be leaving later today, so this may be my only chance. I pushed myself out of the bed shakily. My team and Tazuna watched me with wide eyes. Sakura ran over to me.

"Nami, you shouldn't be getting up!" She said as she tried to lower me back into bed. I pushed her off.

"If I'm going to train with you guys, then I need to start moving now. Besides, I need to do something." I told them. Without waiting for their reactions, I walked out of the room and followed Inari. When I caught up to him, I saw him crying over a picture with a man. I walked into the room slowly.

"Who's that?" I asked him gently as I walked closer. He jerked up and wiped the tears from his eyes quickly before glaring at me. I only smiled at him. I moved to sit down across from him.

"I can tell you've seen a lot of hurt Inari. I can see it in your eyes." I looked at him to see his glare softening. I shifted my gaze to the ocean.

"You know, I don't have any memories. I woke up outside Konoha one day without one clue about who I was. I was lost and confused, and all alone. But then these people came. They took me in and cared for me. They gave me a home."

"Why are you telling me this?" Inari asked me. I smiled at him.

"Because I want you to realize that everyone goes through hard times. But even when you reach your lowest low, even when it feels as if the entire world is against you, it just means that something great and beautiful is waiting for you."

"That doesn't mean anything! You know nothing about me! You know nothing about what I've been through or what I've lost!" He yelled angrily.

"Maybe not." I said as I stood up and turned away. "But that doesn't mean that there's no one out there who _does_."

I began to walk out of his room and saw Naruto standing at the door. I brought a finger to my lips motioning for him to stay quiet. I was about to exit the room when Inari spoke.

"It's.. My father. He died." Inari said sobbing, answeing the question I first asked when I walked in without looking at me. I smiled.

"I can't tell he was a great man. And I can tell you will be too."

* * *

"Alright. You're training starts now." I smiled excitedly.

"Right!" Naruto yelled.

"We'll start with chakra control." I groaned.

"Kakashi, I already know all this." I said boredly. Kakashi looked at me.

"Then why don't you inform your teammates about chakra?" He asked me. I groaned again.

"Why do you make me do pointless work?" I asked. Naruto laughed. I looked over at him, confused.

"Sorry..." He said. "It's just you sounded exactly like Shikamaru there." I grinned.

"Achievement!" I yelled. My team sent me weird looks. "What? Shika's pretty epic." I shrugged.

_"Shika?" _ Sasuke asked, looking at me incredulously. I glared at him.

"Don't judge me, Duck Butt. Shika is an epic nick name, befitting an epic guy. Just like your nick name, it fits you perfectly." I smirked. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Ahem." Kakashi said, obviously getting bored of us going off track.

"Oh, right. Chakra's the energy ninja use in all jutsu, it's the source of a ninja's power, it has two forma, physical and spiritual, it's intesified through training and experience, yadda yadda yadda, hand signs focus and unleash chakra." I said boredly. Sakura and Sasuke rolled their eyes, but Naruto looked at me surprised.

"Wow Nami, you really know your stuff on, uhm, catra." He said.

"It's chakra!" Sakura yelled, hitting him over the head. I laughed.

"Yeah, well, Neji sort of drilled the stuff into my head. And don't worry Naruto, I called it catra at first too." Naruto smiled at this before getting a confused look.

"Who's Neji?" He asked.

"Oh right, you guys don't know him. He's like one of the most epic guys you'll ever meet and he has these really cool eyes that have like special powers and crap. He helped train me when I first came to the village, and we sort of train together whenever we both have free time. He's my best friend, in short." I said smiling. Naruto looked hurt.

"I though I was your best friend." He whined. I immediately ran over and glomped him.

"Of course, you are buddy!" I said trying to make him smile. "You're even cooler that Neji!" Immediately, Naruto went back to being his loud and obnoxious self.

"You know it! I'm way better than this Neji guy, believe it!" He yelled. I laughed.

"Anyway, so what do you have for training Kakashi?" I asked him. He smiled.

"You will be climbing a tree." I raised an eyebrow at him. "With no hands." He casually walked up the nearest tree. I beamed.

"I know how to do this too!" I yelled. Kakashi ignored me and threw kunai at each of our feet.

"Use these to mark how high you climb each time. Try to get to the top of the tree." He said to us. Still grinning, I formed a hand sign and gathered the chakra into my feet along with my teammates.

"CHARGE!" I yelled, and we all began running forward. Deciding to have a little fun, I stopped at the last moment and watched my teammates. Naruto tumbled off almost immediately since he didn't gather enough chakra, Sasuke made it higher but was pushed off because he gathered_ too much_ chakra, and Sakura made it up with ease. I stiffled a laugh from the guys failing so horrible. They turned to face me and glared.

"Nami," Kakashi said disapprovingly, "You need to climb as well." I groaned.

"Fine, fine. I just had to see these two knuckleheads fail." I said grinning. Naruto scowled. I ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry, I just like teasing you. You'll get it soon." I said to him. He grinned. Once again, I gathered the chakra into my feet and walked up the tree effortlessly, making it far higher than Sakura. Just to be epic, I walked underneath a branch and dangled from it, just like Kakashi. The boys watched me with awe.

"Wow Nami, you're even better than Sakura!" Naruto yelled up at me.

"Yeah, well, like I said, I've done a lot of training with Neji and his group. He specializes in chakra control." I said grinning. Sasuke glared at me, obviously frustrated that I was doing better than him.

After that, Kakashi taunted Sauke and Naruto to get them to work harder, and told Sakura to head back to guard Tazuna. He was going to tell me to go as well, but I asked to hang around with them. Eventually, Naruto even came to ask me for advice. I noticed Sasuke watching us, and I sent a wink his way, causing him to turn away from me, irritated. Once Naruto went back to work, I decided that it was time. I couldn't keep running anymore. Knowing that, I made my way over to Kakashi, who had his face buried in some book. I made a mental note to figure out what it was one day.

"Kakashi." I said to him, causing him to lower his book and look me in the eye. "We need to talk."

* * *

**Dramatic, right? So, how is this talk with Kakashi gonna go? Who knows.**

**I mean I do, but that's only because I'm the author.**

**Nami: HI EVERYBODY!  
**

**Me: Nami, why the hell are you here?**

**Nami: *pouts* I just wanted to thank everyone for reading...**

**Naruto: HEY! YOU MADE NAMI SAD! Im gonna make you pay, believe it!**

**Sasuke: Shut up, Naruto.**

**Sakura: YEAH! What Sasuke said!**

**Me: Seriously, Sakura? You cat put aside your fangirlness for even _one_ authors note?**

**Naruto: Wait, this is an authors note? WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING HERE THEN?!**

**Me: THATS WHY I WAS ASKING, YOU IDIOT**

**Sasuke: Youre all annoying.**

**Jashin: Youre here so I can murder you all.**

**Me: Okay, I understand that I'm an extremely random person, but why the hell did I write _JASHIN_ into this?!**

**Nami: Because youre demented.**

**Me: Oh yeah. True dat. Sasuke, you want to say goodbye?**

**Sasuke: ...No.**

**Me: Well fuck you and your emoness. Naruto?**

**Naruto: Bye everybody! I hope you enjoyed this long and pointless authors note from our extremely demented author! See you next chapter!**

**Sakura: Uhm, please review... It keeps Sarah happy and from murdering me...**

**Me: TRUE DAT! REVIEW OR SAKURA DIES**

**Well, if youre like me thats not going to motivate you to review.**

**Sakura: HEY!  
**

**Me: SHUT UP PINKY!  
**

**Anyway, how about Naruto? Yeah, review or Naruto dies. That should work. Naruto's a cool kid.**

**Naruto: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**


	8. Chapter 8

"Kakashi. We need to talk."

My sensei's eyes widened, but he had a look on his face that told me he had been preparing for this moment.

"Oh?" He said casually. "What about?"

"We both know the answer to that." I replied, not missing a beat. Kakashi sighed.

"I'm sorry Nami, but I don't know what you're-" I cut him off.

"Bullshit. You know something about who I am, and you have since the moment I said my name. So has practically every other adult. I'm tired of looking the other way and pretending like I don't see whats happening. I was willing to overlook it, but now even _Zabuza_ knows about my past, which I have no clue about!" My voice raised at the last part. I took a deep breath before continuing. "This is tearing me apart, Kakashi. I have no memories. Nothing. And you, along with half of the people I've met, know more about my past than I do. You know more about me than I do! Do you even realize how confusing and conflicting that is? I _need_ to know. And I need you to tell me. _Now_." I noticed Kakashi watching me, his eye showing how conflicted he was about this.

"I wish I could tell you, Nami. I really do. But I can't. It would put you in danger, and I will do everything I can to keep you out of danger." I took another deep breath.

"I had a feeling you would say that." I said as I turned away.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Kakashi yelled after me. I answered without turning around.

"To guard Tazuna." I said bitterly.

I'm sorry Kakashi. I know that you're doing what you think is best for me. But you're wrong.

* * *

It was late at night. I had been quiet and distant the rest of the day after my talk with Kakashi, even when Naruto and Sakura tried to lift my spirits.

I could tell that Kakashi hated that he had done this. He would keep sending me looks of concern, but wouldn't try to talk to me. I guess he understood that I couldn't talk to him right now.

Everyone was asleep. I guess that means that it's time for me to go. I found a piece of paper and pencil in the room Sakura and I had been staying in, and began writing what could be my last words to my friends.

_Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and even Tazuna (if he gives a damn about any of this that is),_

_I'm leaving tonight. I need answers, and Kakashi can't give me them. I'm doing my best to understand that, no matter how difficult it may be. Kakashi, remember the dream guy I told you about? He came to me again when I was sleeping, and he told me to seek answers from those I believe to be my enemy._

_I've decided to take his advice._

_I know how big of a risk this is. Trust me, I understand that. Zabuza may kill me the second I come into his sight. That's the reason I'm writing this letter. There are a few things I have left to say to you all. _

_I want to thank you all. You gave me a family, friends, and people I could rely on when I had nothing. I can never repay you for that._

_Naruto. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have had you as a 're an amazing guy, and I don't doubt for a minute that you will become hokage one day. And anyone who does? Give them a punch straight to the face and tell them it's from your best friend. Kay? And the village is full of idiots for even ignoring you for one second. You're an absolutely amazing person, with a pure heart. The beast inside of you does not define you. Never think it does. You are Naruto Uzumaki, one of the greatest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, not the beast that lives inside of you. _

_Sakura. God, you're annoying. You fangirl over Sasuke, don't do anything in fights, and spend more time on your appearance than training. But you have so much potential. Put down the mirror, forget about Sasuke, and I know that you will become an absolutely amazing ninja that will exceed everyone's expectations. I can't wait till that day comes._

_Sasuke. Your hair looks like a ducks ass, your vocabulary consists of maybe 5 words, and you like to glare at nothing. You know, I had Kakashi tell me about your clan. I guess I can understand why you're the way you are now. I want to help you, but I have no idea how. You're the only one that I have no idea what to say too, mainly because I have no idea what kind of pain and suffering you've been through. You don't deserve any of it. Yes, those words probably mean nothing to you, but I'm saying them anyway. I know that you'll find a way to turn your suffering around. You're an emo duck, but you're a pretty cool emo duck. As far as emo ducks go. _

_Tazuna. I honestly don't know why I'm including you in this... Oh well. Anyway, look after Inari. He's a great kid, and I know he'll turn into one hell of a man. I truly hope I'll get to see it. And build a damn good bridge for me._

_Kakashi. You know, we've only spent 2 months together, and I already trust you more than anyone else. You've become a father figure to me. Don't blame yourself for me leaving. I understand that by not telling me you're only trying to look out for me. So, thanks Kakashi. For everything. And the second I get back, you're showing me whatever it is you're hiding under that mask. _

_Well everyone, this is it. I might be back in the morning, I might be back a few days from now, or I may never be back. I'll miss each and every one of you either way._

_You know, if I'm back right away this letter is going to seem extremely stupid and over dramatic. _

_Eh, oh well. I've always been one for dramatic exits. I think. (memory loss)_

_ADIOS BITCHES_

_-Nami_

I set down the pencil with a smile. I folded the letter up and placed it next to a sleeping Sakura, so that she would see it when she woke up. I didn't want to leave them, but I needed answers. I looked out the open window, 2 stories above the ground. Well, I guess it's about time I get out of here.

And with that, I leaped out of the window, flipping as I sailed through the air, bending my knees as I landed to soften the blow. I looked around the complete darkness, not seeing anything. Suddenly, I remembered how when I was fighting Zabuza, I could still see through the mist by sending chakra to my eyes. I repeated the action and found that I could see everything perfectly.

Well holy shit. This is pretty epic.

Erm... what am I supposed to do now? I really should have thought this through. I have absolutely no idea where Zabuza is, or how to get to him.

Right after the thought had crossed my mind, I felt a strange pull that lead me deeper into the forest. It was almost impossible to describe, but it felt similar to the feeling I had in my dreams.

Huh. I guess mysterious dream guy decided to lend me a hand after all.

After traveling through the forest for what seemed like forever, I finally found a small shack that looked abandoned. But I knew better. I walked up to the entrance and let my hand linger over the door for a moment.

This is my last chance to hesitate. I'm walking straight into danger.

Should be fun, right?

Before I could chicken out, I brought my fist down on the door.

* * *

**I know, I know, this chapter was incredibly short. But hey, a new chapter's going to be up soon, kay? So don't kill me.**

**NARUTO. TELL EVERYONE TO REVIEW.**

**Naruto: *cowers* Uhm... k. Please review guys... I'm really scared...**

**Me: MWAHAHAHA! YOU SHOULD BE!**

**Deidara: Art is an explosion, un!**

**Sasori: Idiot. Art is immortal.**

**Sauske: Shut up. Both of you.**

**Deidara: Why don't you make me, Uchiha?!**

**Me: I am about to bitch slap you all so hard that your panties fly across the room.**

***silence***

**Nami: *clears throat and whispers to me* Sarah, you're going to scare away all the readers...**

**Me: They wouldn't dare. They love me too much. AND I LOVE THEM EVEN MORE. But only if you review ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

"AY YO ZABUZA! OPEN UP! IT'S THE KIYOMIZU GIRL YOU WANTED!" I yelled as I pounded on the door. My voice cut through the otherwise silent night. I was about to walk away, thinking that it was my imagination and Zabuza was hiding somewhere else, when multiple needles came crashing through the air, catching my clothes and pinning me to the shack.

A young boy dived down from above and began walking towards me. He had dark eyes and hair and pale skin. His eyes widened when he was close enough to see me.

"You really are the Kiyomizu girl. Why are you here?" He asked me evenly. I smirked.

"I'm here to see Zabuza. I'm guessing you're an accomplice of his?" The boy nodded and observed me for a moment before answering.

"I can't sense your team's chakra..." He said mostly to himself. "How do I know this isn't a trick?"

"You said it yourself- my team is nowhere around. They know I left to talk to Zabuza, but they have no idea where he is. And you really think I could touch you or Zabuza? I fought with him once and got my ass handed to me." I laughed at myself. The boy cracked a faint smile, and moved towards me.

"Come." The boy said as he removed the needles. "Just know that if you make one move I will end you." I chuckled.

"Don't worry. I don't plan to attack unless one of you do." Once all the needles had been removed, the boy wrapped one arm around my waist and another around my neck, so that I had no way to escape.

"Just a precaution." He said. "I don't trust you yet." I nodded. I would be extremely shocked if he trusted me at all. He lead me inside the house and to a small room I assumed Zabuza was in.

"Haku, who was the intru-" Zabuza stopped speaking when his eyes landed on me. His nonexistent eyebrows raised and a smirk grew on his face.

"So you really walked right into my clutches. I guess the Kiyomizu clan didn't specialize in _intelligence._" He said. I rolled my eyes. The boy holding me, Haku apparently, chuckled.

"She says she wishes to talk to you, Zabuza." He said.

"Oh? What about?" Zabuza asked, never taking his eyes off me.

"I want you to tell me everything that you know about me or my clan." I said. Zabuza chuckled.

"Your allies wouldn't tell you anything, huh?" He asked me. I shook my head.

"Nope." I answered, popping the p. Zabuza nodded as if he was expecting that.

"Haku, release the girl." He said. Haku looked reluctant, but did as he said. "Nami, if I remember correctly, right?" I nodded. "Tell me, why should I bother telling you anything?" I smirked.

"I figured you would ask that. So I'm prepared to offer you a deal." Zabuza and Haku looked interested by this.

"A deal?" Haku echoed. I nodded.

"You tell me every single thing you know that even remotely has to do with me. In exchange, if you end up taking out my friends, I'll join your little team. You said you wanted me, right?" I said smirking.

"So eager to betray your team?" Zabuza asked me.

"Not at all. I just know that they'll be able to take you two down." Zabuza chuckled once again.

"Your heads up in the clouds kid. Well, you've got my attention. I just want to add one thing to the deal." Zabuza stated. I raised an eyebrow, signaling for him to continue.

"You train with Haku and I for the rest of the week, or until we go to face your team. That way I'll be able to test your abilities. I'll still tell you all I know about you and your clan, but if I deem you worthless, I'll kill you." I considered this. I would be trained by two S-class criminals, which could prove to pretty useful, but they could kill me at any second.

Who am I kidding? They'd kill me if I declined. My only hope of making it out of this alive is saying yes. And I've already came this far.

"Alright. I can think of worse people to spend a week with." I said confidently. Zabuza smirked and Haku had a faint smile on his face.

"You're being very friendly considering we were trying to kill your friends just a few days ago." Haku said. I shrugged.

"Well, you're not now, right? Besides, you two could kill me at any second. It would be incredibly idiotic of me to not be friendly." I said.

"Looks like you're not as stupid as you look. Now, this may take a while kid, so you may want to sit down." I took his advice and sat in a nearby chair. Haku was still watching me closely.

"Save the questions until the end. I don't feel like being interrupted." Zabuza said. I nodded eagerly.

"The Kiyomizu clan was incredibly powerful, rivaled only by the Uchihas. The clan had a very close relationship with animals. Many summonings were passed through the clan, adding to their power. The kekkai genkai of the Kiyomizu clan was their ability to change a body part into that of an animals, or partial shapeshifting. That's what you did in the fight, you transformed your eyes to an animal's that could see through the mist easily."

"Hundreds of years ago, one of the founders of the clan was extremely powerful. She had an ability to see into the future, and was incredibly sought after because of that power. After one of the most difficult battles the Kiyomizu clan had ever seen, she began speaking a prophecy. No clue what exactly she said, but in short, it spoke of a day where a clan that would turn on it self. Family murdering each other for power, friends at each other's throats. She said that a murdered man's child would be celebrating her 3rd birthday on that day, and that that child would be blessed with extraordinary power that the world had never seen before."

"Word of the prophecy spread, and people anxiously awaited the day when the child would come to light. People hungered for her power and wanted to use it as their own. But when years passed and no signs of the prophecy being fulfilled showed, people forgot."

"Flash forward a few hundred years, and the Kiyomizu clan is starting to turn on itself. I don't know the details, but it split into two sides. One way or another, the entire clan ended up slaughtered."

"There were rumors of two children who escaped. A young girl, who had turned 3 that day, and her 13 year old brother, both born into the head family. The boy's body was found later, but the girl, who people had come to realize was the child from the prophecy, was never found."

"Based on the fact that you had the Kiyomizu clan's kekkai genkai, and fit the profile, it's pretty easy to tell that you're the missing prophecy child, kid." Zabuza finished.

I pulled my knees into my chest and stared into nothing. There was nothing but silence for a few minutes as Haku and Zabuza watched me closely.

"So I'm really all alone then. I had a brother... And a family... And they're all gone?" I said, breaking the silence. Zabuza nodded, and for a moment I thought I could see a bit of sympathy on his face, but if it was ever there it was gone in an instant.

"Tell me kid, how did you not know any of this to begin with?" Zabuza questioned. I took a deep breath.

"I woke up outside the Leif about 2 months ago, with no memories. I have no idea how I got there, or what I had been doing in my life before that. All I had was a dream, with a man who looked a lot like me. He wouldn't tell me who he was, and I told myself it was just a dream, and that he was impossible. But now I'm doubting if _anything_ is impossible."

"A man that looked a lot like you, huh? He may have been a member of your clan." Zabuza told me. I raised an eyebrow.

"My clan's dead. You just said that yourself." I replied bitterly. Zabuza stared my dead in the eyes.

"I wouldn't be surprised. The Kiyomizu clan was known for achieving the impossible." He stated. I shook my head.

"It's very late. You should probably get some sleep, Nami, we'll be doing a lot of training tomorrow." Haku said. I nodded.

"Yeah, sleep would be nice. Just promise not to kill me while I'm sleeping, alright?" I told the two. They chuckled.

"You got it, princess." Zabuza said mockingly. I rolled my eyes. Haku lead me once again into another room with a small bed.

I smiled at him gratefully. He nodded and began to leave the room. I sat down on the bed and began to try to process everything I had learned.

"I'm sorry." I looked up to see Haku had lingered around the doorway. "About your family. I know how it feels to be all alone." I smiled faintly.

"Thank you."

* * *

**Well, we're finally finding out about Nami's past. Exciting, right? I know it seems like everything was spelled out in this chapter, but trust me, there's _a lot_ more going on.**

**I lerhv you all.**

**YOU GAVE ME 11 REVIEWS. LIKE HOLY CRAP.**

**In one chapter, we went from 5 to 11. I can't tell you how much I was smiling when I saw that.**

**So thank you to everyone who is reading this, and an even bigger thank you to those who favorited or followed, and an even BIGGER thank you to each person who has reviewed! I take every piece of advice or criticism I get to heart, and reviews help motivate me to keep writing which is why they mean so much to me.**

**Each and every one of you are perfection.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Third person POV:**

Sakura Haruno was not normally one to be at a lose for words. That is, until she woke up with Nami nowhere in sight and a suspicious letter laying on her bed.

Her hands were shaking by the time she had finished reading the letter. She burst out of the room to find her team and Tazuna about to head out for the day. Their eyes widened when they saw how frantic the young kunoichi was.

"It's... Nami..." She breathed, tears gathering in her eyes.

"What about her?" Kakashi asked nervously.

"She's gone." Sakura said, a knot gathering in her throat. "All she left was this letter." Sakura shoved the letter into her sensei's hands, not wanting to have to look at it any longer.

Sakura blamed herself for this. She should have woken up. She should have been able to stop her. She should have. She should've, she should've_, she should've._

But it was too late.

"Why Kakashi-sensei? Why did she leave us?" Sakura asked, no longer being able to hold back the tears. Her friend was gone. She could be _dead_. And there was _nothing_ Sakura could do about it.

Naruto stood there in shock, Sasuke looked worried, and Kakashi was frantically reading the letter, his eyes moving at an incredible rate. When he finished, he just stared at the words, as if if he looked long enough, if he wished enough, hoped enough, Nami would come back to them. His hand tightened around the letter and his breathing was uneven.

It was easy to tell that Naruto and Sasuke wanted more than anything to read that letter at that instant, right away. But they didn't dare disturb Kakashi in this state.

"I... I don't know." Kakashi said, though to his students it was easy to tell he was holding back the truth. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him.

"That's a lie." He said, annoyed.

Kakashi didn't even glance at his student. He wanted more than nothing to break down at that moment. He had lost almost everyone he had ever cared about, and this was no exception.

He had wondered what he had done to deserve this.

"I'm going to get her back. You three, guard Tazuna. I'll have her back soon, don't worry." Kakashi said, forcing a smile onto his face. Before they could answer, he was already outside and summoning his ninja hounds to find her.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke wearily made their way over to the abandoned letter. By the end, Naruto had tears in his eyes and Sasuke looked less emotionless than usual.

"Naruto..." Sakura said, wishing to comfort him but having no idea how. He plastered a forced smile onto his face.

"Don't worry Sakura! Nami's strong, she'll be fine. And she'll come back to us before you know it. And when she does, we'll get her to tell us why she even left in the first place, believe it!"

"Hn." Sasuke said in agreement.

Sakura smiled at her two teammates, tears once again gathering in her eyes.

"You're right."

Kakashi had looked all day, but there was absolutely no trace of his student. It was as if she had disappeared off the face of the planet. Even his ninja hounds couldn't find anything.

And so, when he returned to the house late at night, he was dreading facing his team without their final member. He walked through the door unsurely, not expecting to see every member of the house sitting in the living area anxiously, even Tazuna, his daughter, and Inari.

Their gazes landed on him hopefully when they heard him enter, then fell once again when they saw he was alone. The silence was deafening; no one wanted to acknowledge the truth that Nami was really gone.

After what seemed like forever, Sakura was the one to break the silence.

"Kakashi-sensei. You're back." She said with a forced smile, trying to lighten the mood. He nodded slowly.

"Nami?" Naruto asked, looking down, his voice shaking slightly. Kakashi shook his head slowly.

"Kakashi-sensei, I asked you once before. Why? Why did she leave? What was Nami talking about- getting answers?" Sakura asked slowly. Kakashi took a deep breath.

Their teammate had left- they deserved to know the truth. Kakashi knew Nami would want them to anyway. He sat down slowly.

"Nami isn't ordinary." He began. His team and the bridgebuilder and his family met his eyes, surprised.

"She's a part of the Kiyomizu clan of Konoha." Sasuke's eyes widened, but everyone else looked confused.

"The Kiyomizu clan was incredibly powerful; rivaled only be the Uchiha." He looked at Sasuke. "I'm sure you heard about them a few times from your family, Sasuke." The boy nodded.

"Yeah. I just... I never..." He tried to talk but couldn't seem to finish the sentence.

"You've heard about the prophecy then." Kakashi stated. The boy nodded once again.

"I knew her last name and I knew about the Kiyomizu clan, but I thought it was some crazy coincidence. After all... She couldn't be... She couldn't be the..." Sasuke couldn't finish once again. Kakashi looked at him in understanding.

"I get it. The only way she could be a Kiyomizu would be if she was the prophecy child, and you couldn't bring yourself to believe she was." Kakashi said. Sasuke looked down. The others looked at the two, incredibly confused.

"What are you two talking about?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi once again took a deep breath and went on to explain all that he knew about Nami and the Kiyomizu clan, which was no more than Zabuza. The others listened intently, never interrupting.

"The Hokage... He didn't want Nami to know of any of this. He was worried about what the toll would be on her if she knew that her entire family was dead. And if Nami knew who she was, it would be that much easier for people to find her." Kakashi finished. His students stared at the floor, not meeting his eyes.

"Why didn't you ask her to go by a different last name then? She would be in a lot less danger then." Sakura asked.

"I... I couldn't bring myself to do it. Lord Hokage wanted to, but... Nami had nothing. She was alone and confused, and all she had was her name. I couldn't... I couldn't take that away from her too." Kakashi breathed.

"I knew it." Inari said as he stood up. "Nami's dead, and soon you people will be too! That's what happens when you try to be a hero!" Naruto burst up angrily.

"Now listen here kid, I don't know who the hell you think you are, but Nami is stronger than that! She _will_ come back to us, and we _will_ save this village! Don't you _dare_ doubt Nami ever again!" Naruto yelled. Inari stared at him with tears gathering in his eyes, before huffing and running away. His mother shot the team an apologetic look before running off after him. After a few moments in silence, Tazuna spoke.

"That kid... I don't understand what she was thinking." Tazuna stated.

"She wanted answers." Sasuke said bluntly. When Sakura and Naruto shot him confused looks, he sighed and continued on. "Think of it this way- Nami knows nothing about herself. She was completely in the dark, but she could tell that others knew who she was. It was probably eating her up slowly, until she felt that she had no choice left."

"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have kept her past from her." Kakashi said. Sakura shook her head.

"No Kakashi-sensei, you were only looking out for her. You can't blame yourself for this. Nami said it herself." She said.

"Besides, it's too late to worry about that now!" Naruto yelled. "Now, we have to get super strong so that when Nami does come back, we can protect her next time, believe it!"

"Hn." Sasuke said with a smirk. Sakura smiled as well, and the smile soon spread to Kakashi, no matter how small it was.

Maybe his team wasn't so bad after all.

"Alright. Try to hit that target with your kunai." Haku said.

As soon as the sun had rose, Haku as I left for training. It was our second day of training. I didn't mind- it kept my mind off of everything else I had learned two nights before.

I groaned in response to Haku's order.

"Come on Haku, you know I'm horrible at aim." I whined. He chuckles lightly.

"Yes, and that's exactly why we're working on it." I pouted.

"I hate it when you have a point."

"I know you do. Now, go ahead." Haku said, moving out of the way. We were currently just outside the house. Zabuza had tried to come with us, but he was still having too much trouble morning. Haku and I had been training nonstop for hours. He had helped me practice my taijutsu, along with providing me with a set of twin katanas, saying that they would fit my battle style.

Whatever the hell that meant.

But now, Haku wanted me to_ throw a kunai. _Doesn't her realize that that's virtually impossible for me?

I took a deep breath and sent my arm forward, releasing the kunai. It went sailing through the air, landing about a foot away from the target. I scratched the back of my head sheepishly and laughed nervously. Haku just sighed and walked over to retrieve the kunai.

"You need to focus. That's your problem. You work well focusing on a target that's right in front of you. That's when your instincts kick in. But if the target is too far away, you lose that focus." He said to me. I blinked at him.

"So how the hell do I fix that?" I asked him.

"Visualize the target being closer. Trick your brain into thinking that the target is right in front of you." He said simply.

"You make it sound so easy..." I muttered. He smiled.

"Because it is. Now, try again." I took a deep breath and did as he said, doing my best to believe that the target was truly right in front of me.

Well, this time the kunai landed a little less than a foot away. Haku sighed, but I grinned.

"You see that, Haku? That is called progress!" I said proudly. Haku chuckled lightly.

"Well, you're going to have to make a lot more. You're practicing your aim until you can hit that target." I groaned as he continued. "I'm going to head back to look after Zabuza." I nodded and smirked at him before glaring at the target. Yes, the target. Haku sighed once again and left for the house.

"You little bastard..." I said, still glaring at the target. "You will so be hit by the end of the day."

* * *

I ran excitedly back into the house Haku and Zabuza were in. I HAD FREAKING HIT THE TARGET.

Sure, I had been training all freaking day, but I had done it!

GO ME!

I burst through the door with a huge grin on my face, only to have it disappear once I sensed the atmosphere.

Zabuza and Haku were both glaring at a group of annoying looking men with stupid ass smirks on their faces.

"Zabuza, Haku, who the hell are these idiots?" I asked the two criminals. The men all glared at me, but Haku and Zabuza cracked a smile.

"Nami, this is Gato, the man who hired our services." Zabuza said smirking.

I think he knew what my reaction would be to that.

Before Gato or his bodyguards could react, I was behind the man with one of my twin blades pressed to his throat, my hand resting over the other which was placed in its holder on my back, ready to pull it out at any notice.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you this instant, you piece of shit." I hissed viscously in Gato's ear. He snorted.

"I could have you killed easily, brat." He replied. I felt a sword being pressed into my back, and I smirked.

"Oh Gato, your arrogance will be the end of you." I whipped out my other katana faster than the bodyguard could react, pulled the other away from Gato's throat, and trapped the man's blade in between them. I angled my blades just right, and sent his sword flying across the room.

Not wanting to kill the man, but wanting to teach him one hell of a lesson, I used all of my force to send a kick straight to his chest, sending him flying across the room. The other bodyguard began to walk towards me, but I pulled a kunai and sent it flying towards him, aiming for his shoulder.

Of course, I missed, but it was just as effective, trapping him to the wall by by catching his clothes. I looked over at Haku to see he had an eyebrow raised, so I winked at him. I stalked over to him and pressed my blade to the bodyguards' throat. Using the other, I made a warning cut across his arm, causing him to grit his teeth in pain. I smirked.

"I would advise that you do not make me angry again. Or things will not turn out this well for you." I said, my face intimidatingly close to his. He gulped, and I snickered as I turned back to Gato, his face clearly expressing shock.

"Now, my dear Gato, I will also advise that you never act so cocky again in my presence. Keep in mind that I am the weakest of the three of us," I said, referring to Zabuza and Haku, "and yet I can take you out without breaking a sweat." I said coldly. Zabuza chuckled from his bed.

"Nami, please stop terrifying these men." He told me. I pouted, but took a step away from Gato.

"You just have to ruin my fun..." I muttered.

"You little bitch." Gato said, scowling at me. He began stalking towards me, and I raised my eyebrows, wondering what he thought he could do to me. Before I could have some more fun though, Haku was standing in front of us, grabbing Gato's arm.

"If you have any idea what's best for you, you will get out of here immediately." He said evenly. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine Haku. Just show me up like that. It's not like I give a damn." I said jokingly. The boy chuckled lightly. Gato huffed and wretched his arm out of Haku's grasp, but turned away nonetheless, fetching his bodyguards and getting out of the place as quickly as possible. Once they were gone, Haku turned around to face me.

"Your aim has improved." He stated. I grinned.

"Well of course." I replied, winking at him. He chuckled. "I was aiming for his shoulder though..." I muttered.

"Anyway, why wouldn't you let me kill those bastards?" I asked Zabuza, pouting. Zabuza stared at me.

"I need the money." He replied. I blinked before sighing.

"I don't understand you two. At all." I said.

"What do you mean?" Haku asked me. I shook my head. They wouldn't understand even if I tried to tell them.

"It's nothing. Never mind." I said.

In truth, it wasn't. After spending two days with the two, I had realized something that I doubted that even they knew.

That they were good people.

Sure, Zabuza had done some pretty unforgivable things, and Haku along with him. Yet Haku was an incredibly caring person, with absolutely no limit to the goodness in his heart. Over the years, I assumed some of that had ribbed off on Zabuza.

I hoped that one day they would stop with all this missing nin and criminal crap.

"Anyway, where's the food? I'm starving." I said, my stomach growling after I spoke, emphasizing my point. The two chuckled.

"Stay here. I'll go get it." Haku said, before exciting the room.

* * *

I sat in a chair, eating some food Haku had found in the forest. It wasn't great, but it was edible.

I squinted my eyes as I held a small berry in my hand, staring straight at Zabuza. When he noticed me, his eyes narrowed, obviously wondering what the hell I was doing.

And then I threw the berry right at his face, hitting his forehead. Zabuza didn't even flinch, and Haku watched us curiously.

"Kid," Zabuza hissed, "What the hell was that?!" I shrugged and attempted to keep a grin off my face.

"I'm bored. And Haku did tell me to practice my aim." I told him. He scowled on me.

"Then why don't you go practice your aim on something other than me forehead?" He hissed again. I snickered.

"Alright." I said, before throwing another berry at Haku. He blinked at me.

"Nami," he said emotionlessly, "I would appreciate it if you didn't practice your aim on me as well." I pouted.

"You guys are no fun..." I muttered. It was silent for a while, but it was a comfortable silence. Haku and Zabuza weren't much of the talkative type after all.

"Haku, how is Nami doing in her training?" Zabuza asked after a while. Haku looked at me.

"She's very talented. Her skills will come in handy." Haku said. "She is worth of the title of a Kiyomizu." I grinned.

"Hear that, Zabuza? I may not be the most skilled ninja here, but I'm easily the most epic."

"Kid, your ego could afford a knock down." Zabuza said.

"At least I acknowledge that you two are stronger than me." I replied. The two ninja chuckled. I yawned.

"I think I'm going to head to bed." I said as I stood up.

"Goodnight Nami." Haku said to me. I smiled.

"Night Haku, night Zabuza." I said. Zabuza nodded his head in my direction and I exited the room.

I wonder how my team is doing? I miss them like crazy. I would normally be moping that I was separated from them, but Haku and Zabuza had kept my mind off it, which I greatly appreciated. Haku told me that Zabuza would be ready to go after them in 3 days.

That meant that I had 3 days. 3 days to get stronger. Strong enough to stop Zabuza and Haku, without killing them. 3 days to see if I could change their minds. 3 days before I would see my team again.

I sighed. I couldn't decide if I wanted those 3 days to end quickly, or if I needed them to stretch out longer.

Guess I would just have to wait and see what happens.

* * *

**Ay bro.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I think Nami and Haku and Zabuza are just hilarious, but I'm weird. Therefore the things I find hilarious are commonly not hilarious to others.**

**But ehhh, normal is boring.**

**Anyway, REVIEW FAVORITE AND FOLLOW OR I WILL STALK YOU WHILE YOURE SLEEPING AND give you a really big hug because you're beautiful.**

**But if you review, favorite, or follow, you'll get an EVEN BIGGER HUG!**

**So do that shit. Cause I give out some pretty bad ass hugs.**


	11. Chapter 11

_"You two have done nothing but lie to me all my life! Why should I care about either of you?" _

_"Because you're our daughter!"_

_"No! I'm not! Just because there some document out there that says I am, that doesn't make me your daughter! You are not my fucking parents, and you never will be!"_

_The expression on my 'parents' faces was nothing but pure hurt. It almost made me regret saying what I had. Before I could change my mind and apologize, I ran out the house as quickly as possible, getting as far away from that house as I could. _

_I didn't come back for hours. I stayed outside, staring up at the stars that covered the sky. _

_I didn't go back until I saw smoke. _

_The smoke came from around where my house was. I didn't think much of it until a fire truck raced by, and that's when I decided it was about time to head home. _

_The closer I got to my house, the more worried I became. The smoke was extremely thick, and it was coming from where my own house was. The closer I got to home, the more panicked I became, and the faster I walked. _

_The second I turned my block, I broke out into a sprint. _

_Because there, was my entire house, engulfed in flames. _

_When I reached my house, I quickly scanned the area, to find that my parents were nowhere in sight. _

_"No." I muttered. "Nononono." The firemen started to notice me, and tried to talk to me. Before they could say anything, I burst towards my house, trying to get inside, despite the heat and danger that was leaking from it. _

_They were still inside. I had to save them. I had to._

_I was almost inside the door, when a firm arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back into their chest. I started flailing around pointlessly. _

_"LET ME GO!" I yelled, gathering the attention of anyone in the area. "MY PARENTS ARE STILL IN THERE!" I kicked the man holding me as hard as I could, but he didn't even flinch. _

_"This is all my fault! I have to help them! I can't let them _**_die_**_ in there!" I yelled to myself more than the firemen. They sent me sympathetic and pitying looks after hearing my words. _

_Tears were pouring down my face in waterfalls at this point, but I was still trying to get out of the man's grasp. He help me firmly before gesturing towards one of the men who ran the ambulance. _

_"We need to tranquilize her." He said to the man. I thrashed even harder. _

_"NO! MY PARENTS NEED ME! I'VE NEVER BEEN THERE FOR THEM, AND IF I DON'T GO NOW IT WILL BE TOO LATE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. At this point, a crowd had formed around the scene, and my neighbors had tears gathering in the eyes, never looking directly at me. _

_At my thrashing, the firemen only tightened his grip around me. "Shhh..." He whispered comfortingly. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." I wanted to yell at him some more, but a needle had been quickly placed into my arm, and I felt the world drifting away from me. _

_My thrashing slowed down, and my eyes started drooping shut. I fought it for as long as I could. _

_"No... I have to help them... Repay them..." I muttered, my words slurring together. I looked up at the man who was still holding me. _

_"It's alright. We'll save them. They'll be fine." He said, as my eyes finally shut. _

_But before they did, I had seen his eyes. They were filled with tears, just like those who had been watching. _

_I could easily tell he was lying. _

I jolted up from my bed, sweat dripping down from my forehead. I looked around the room frantically, for a moment forgetting where I was, before it all came back.

What the hell was that?

It all seemed so familiar. I was almost positive that it was one of my lost memories, but the more I thought about it the farther away and more confusing the dream seemed to be. Yet a few things were etched into my memory.

Misery. Nothing but pain and misery. Those I loved being stripped away from me once again.

I sighed, before finally noticing how late it was. I normally got up at the break of dawn to go training with Haku. Zabuza had even tagged along the past two days, not doing any training, but just watching the two of us.

In all honesty, I had really enjoyed the past week I had spent with the two guys. I know, I know, they're criminals, but hey, I don't judge.

It's not like I have any room too, anyway.

Pushing aside my thoughts, I quickly got out of bed and exited the room, wondering why the hell Zabuza or Haku hadn't woken me up.

I yawned as I entered the living area, and when I opened my eyes, I noticed something very unusual.

Haku and Zabuza were nowhere to be found.

I raised my eyebrows, before I came to a sudden realization.

Oh _shit_.

It's been a week, Nami, a _week_. How fucking stupid can you get? Zabuza was supposed to be better in a week!

Face palming at my own tremendous stupidity, I quickly slid my ninja clothes on, grabbed my weapons, and was out the door, traveling as fast as I could towards the bridge.

I couldn't believe myself. Had I really been so caught up in training, and having enough fun with Haku and Zabuza, so that I had completely forgotten my goal?

Suppressing the urge to face palm once again, I shook my head. There was no time to worry about that now. I had to get there. I had to stop Haku and Zabuza. I had to save both my team, and my new friends.

I only hoped I wouldn't be too late.

* * *

I was currently stretched along the underside of the bridge, carefully watching and listening to everything that was going on. I was poised directly under my team's feat, ready to jump up and defend them at a moment's notice. Haku and Zabuza were on the other side of the bridge, watching my team carefully. Only Naruto was missing. Knowing him, he would probably throw a fit later when he hears he missed this.

Currently, no one was aware that I was here. Hell, my team was probably doubting I was even alive. Especially now.

"Kakashi." Zabuza's taunting voice rang through the air. "It's been a while. I see you still have the brats with you- but it looks like you're short two." Zabuza said, and I could practically hear the smirk that was probably spreading across his face.

"Where. Is. Nami?" Kakashi asked slowly, his voice containing plenty of killing intent.

"You mean the little blonde brat?" Zabuza asked. "I killed her." He stated simply.

My eyes widened in surprised and I quickly looked down at myself. Pretty sure I'm not dead- positive actually. Zabuza probably just wants to provoke them, and knowing my team, he probably did.

I heard a thud and was able to tell that someone had fallen to her knees.

"No..." Sakura's voice muttered. Apparently she was the one who had fallen to her knees. Tazuna soon helped her stand up. Sasuke and Kakashi stood perfectly, but you could feel the rage boiling inside of them just by hearing them

"You're lying!" Sakura yelled after regaining her composure.

"Not quite, little girl. Don't worry, you'll be joining her soon." Zabuza replied. I peaked through the cracks of the bridge to try to see what was happening.

"Nami..." Sakura said shakily, a few tears falling from her eyes. She wiped them off quickly, and sent Zabuza the most intimidating look she could. "No way would Nami be killed by the likes of _you_!" She spat at Zabuza. I smiled at my teammates bravery. I always knew there was hope for her. Zabuza chuckled.

"You say that now, but you won't be when I kill each of you. You should have seen the poor girl, begging for her life. _Pathetic_." Zabuza responded. I was practically shaking with anger. I mean, if you're going to give me a fake death, at least give me a good one! Who wants to go out begging for their life?

Damn you Zabuza. Giving me such a bad death.

Sasuke started growling, and his voice became incredibly menacing and sent shivers down my spine.

_"Shut. Up." _He hissed to Zabuza. The boy might have even attacked, if Kakashi hadn't put hisarm in front of him, keeping Sasuke from going anywhere.

"Sasuke. Sakura. Get in formation. Protect Tazuna. As soon as this is over with, we will find Nami." Kakashi said, his voice wavering towards the end. At this point, I had peaked my head over the edge of the bridge. I couldn't stand not being able to tell exactly what was going on. I was surprised no one had noticed me yet. Sasuke sent a glare to our sensei, but turned his attention back to Zabuza and Haku, the latter yet to have spoken a word.

"I want you to tell me, _right now_, where Nami is. Or I will kill you both, _slowly_ and _painfully_." Zabuza narrowed his eyes at Sasuke.

"You make empty threats, boy." He paused before he continued. "I told you." He said, his eyes never leaving Sasuke's. "I _killed her_."

And that's when Sasuke charged.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi and Sakura yelled.

My eyes widened. Sasuke wasn't one to lose his cool, but here he was, foolishly attacking Zabuza.

What the hell is he _thinking?_

With a kunai in hand, Sasuke swung at Zabuza, nothing but pure resentment in his eyes. Zabuza sidestepped the attack easily, and while Sasuke was open, he swung his sword down, ready to slice Sasuke in half.

But before he could touch him, I had leaped up from my hiding spot, pulled out my twin katanas, and managed to block his blade with them. My arms were shaking from his strength, but I knew he was even holding back right now. But I had to hold this for a few seconds. Enough so that Sasuke could get out of danger.

"Zabuza..." I began through clenched teeth. "Don't you know it's not nice to lie?"

* * *

**Ay guys.**

**I HAVE 17 REVIEWS. HOW FUCKING EPIC IS THAT?!**

**I'm answering for you.**

**It's pretty fucking epic.**

**And guess what else we have? 2000 freaking views.**

**WOOOOHOOO! **

**You can't see me, so you probably don't know I just did a happy dance.**

**SO LEAVE ME MORE REVIEWS AND SHIT BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME**

**Pretty please?**

**...I love you.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Ehehehehehe. So um, I sort of made a HUGE mistake last chapter.**

**Yeah, I facepalmed the biggest facepalm ever when I realized it.**

**So you know how in the anime and manga Naruto saves Inari and his mom from the big bad bandits and that's why he's not there at the beginning of the Zabuza fight?**

**I may have, just possibly, completely forgot about that and originally wrote Naruto into the fight.**

**IM SORRY, OKAY?! STOP YELLING AT ME? ****Oh, you weren't yelling at me? Whoops.**

**Anyways, I'm incredibly sorry. Chapter 11 is now fixed. So, if you read chapter 11 before today, 5/6, you just might want to go back and reread it. Not the whole thing, just from the beginning of the fight.**

**Again, IM SO SORRY. I BEG YOUR FORGIVENESS.**

**...Here's the next chapter.**

* * *

"Zabuza... Don't you know it's not nice to lie?" I said with a smirk, my katanas shaking under the weight of Zabuza's sword. My friend/enemy's eyes widened at seeing it was me.

"Nami." He said not coldly nor kindly. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

"You should know by now that I don't follow plans." I told him with a wink. At that moment, I sent a kick straight to the giant sword, causing it's weight to lessen for just a moment, but it was enough for me to get away. I quickly retracted my blades, and in the blink of an eye, I flipped backwards and grabbed Sasuke, who was still standing stunned, and pulled him to safety.

I quickly pushed Sasuke back, standing in front of my team and Tazuna protectively. I stared at Zabuza for a few moments, not ready to meet my team's eyes.

That didn't last long.

"Nami?" My raven haired teammate asked, I smiled to myself, and couldn't help but turn around. I met his eyes, and sent him the most comforting smile I could.

"Hey guys. Miss me?" I teased, smirking. My team stared at me expressionlessly, until one by one, they broke out into grins. Even Tazuna was grinning at me. Suddenly, I was being glomped by the only other girl.

"Of course!" She yelled, squeezing me tightly. She then pulled away, glared at me, and hit me right on the head.

"OW!" I yelled, rubbing my head. "What the hell was that for?" I demanded.

"FOR LEAVING US, YOU IDIOT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED WE WERE?" She screamed back at me.

"THAT'S NO REASON TO HIT ME!"

"IT'S EVERY REASON TO HIT YOU!"

"Nami? Sakura? You mind waiting until after the fight to do this?" I looked over to the source of the voice, to find Kakashi smiling at me, despite me and Sakura's yelling fit.

"Please." Sasuke added, glaring at the two of us. I pouted.

"I've been back for two minutes, and you're already glaring at me?" I asked him. He just smirked at me.

"Ugh. Fine. I'll yell at Sakure later." I agreed, before turning back to Zabuza and Haku. "Thanks for not interrupting, by the way." I directed to the two. Zabuza smirked, and Haku nodded.

"It's the last time you'll be seeing them Nami, thought I'd at least give you that." Zabuza said, still smirking. I rolled my eyes.

"I wouldn't be so confident, if I were you, Zabuza." I replied.

"Nami, get in formation." Kakashi told me. I shook my head.

"I know these two, Kakashi. I can help."

"Nami, we just lost you for a week! I'm not putting you in danger again!" Kakashi insisted. I sighed and walked over to my position in guarding Tazuna, not looking at Kakashi. As I walked by him though, he ruffled my hair.

"I missed you kid. Don't do that again." He said quietly. I beamed at him before finally getting in position, which would be the back of our circle, but since Naruto was who knows where, I went to the side. Before I could ask where my troublemaking best friend had dissapeared to, a deep, mocking laugh rand through the air.

"Your kids are still just brats, Kakashi. Well, with the exception of Nami. She's proven herself to be very useful. Which is why I'm going to kill you and your team, and take the girl with me." Zabuza said tauntingly. My team tensed at this. "Just look at them! That one's even shaking again." He said looking at Sasuke. I turned towards my teammate to find he was right. I raised an eyebrow at him, only for him to smirk at me and then Zabuza.

"I'm shaking... with _excitement_." I rolled my eyes and couldn't help but snicker at that. Sasuke sent me a mix between a questioning look and a glare. I shrugged.

"It's just, you make everything so_ dramatic_." I said still snickering. He rolled his eyes.

"And you make everything seem like a joke." He retorted.

"It's a gift." I winked at him. Kakashi cleared his throat and I noticed that we were surrounded by water clones. I huffed and was about to charge, when Sasuke held out an arm to stop me. I glared at him.

"Sasuke. Take care of them." Kakashi ordered. Sasuke smirked at me, and quickly destroyed the cloned in a matter of seconds.

"Attention whore." I muttered under my breath, yet all genin on my team seemed to hear me. Sakura glared at me, along with Sasuke. I blew my bangs out of my face.

"Well... You did improve. Good job, duck butt." I said, looking at Sasuke.

"Hn." He responded

"Sasuke's so cool!" Sakura gushed, reminding me why she annoyed me so much. I snorted.

"His vocabulary consists of like two words. If that's cool... You know what? I'm not even going to finish. I give up trying to understand the way your mind works, Sakura." The pink haired ninja sent me a quick glare.

"Nami. You should stay out of this." Haku said to me, a little emotion making it's way into his voice. I sent him a faint smile.

"Sorry Haku. No can do. I will protect these guys with my life." I said. "But don't worry- I plan on protecting you and Zabuza as well." Zabuza's eyes widened, and Haku stiffened. My team all sent me confused looks, but I just held a finger to my lips with a smirk, signaling for them to keep quiet on the subject.

"Anyway, the brat is improving. Looks like you've got a rival Haku." Zabuza suddenly said.

"So it seems." Haku replied.

"That's it. I'm taking him." Sasuke said, glaring at Haku. My eyes widened and I began frantically whispering to my teammate.

"Sasuke...This guy's tough. His speed is incredible, and he has some kekkai genkai that I've heard him and Zabuza talking about. It's extremely powerful. Be careful." I told my teammate. He nodded, and before I knew it, the two were engaged in a battle of speed. I watched carefully, getting ready to intervene at any moment.

"Sakura, Nami, guard Tazuma and stay behind me. Let Sasuke handle this." Kakashi said to us. Sakura nodded but I quickly shook my head.

"I want to fight." I told Kakashi.

"Nami, do as I say. _Now_." Kakashi insisted, not budging. I glared at him, but didn't join the fighting. I watched the two anxiously, as Sasuke managed to keep up with Haku's speed.

"I do not wish to kill you. Surrender now." Haku said when their weapons had clashed, and the two were at a standstill. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

"Yeah right." Haku shook his head slowly.

"I have gained two key advantages at this point." Haku said. Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah? And what's that?" He asked.

"First, we are surrounded by water. And second, I have blocked one of your hands." Haku replied. I took in a deep breath as I saw Haku begin to form hand signs with one hand.

"1000 needles of death!" Haku said as the needles surrounding the two came crashing down. Haku immediately jumped out of harms way, and without thinking about it, I jumped straight in, but Sasuke had already leaped away. I smirked as I jumped up to join him. We landed back on the ground at the same time with a thud. Sasuke sent me a glare.

"I don't need your help." I smirked at him.

"Oh, but you do. You just don't know it yet." I replied. He sent me another glare.

"Nami! Gat back here!" Kakashi yelled. I answered without taking my eyes off Zabuza and Haku.

"I don't care how much Sauske has improved Kakashi, there is no way he's taking Haku down by himself. I am not just going to stand by knowing that." Kakashi sighed.

"So... You can keep up with Haku's speed." Zabuza muttered, looking at Sasuke.

"You made a mistake calling these ninja brats. Sasuke here is the top rookie of the village. Sakura is our sharpest mind. Naruto is our number one, hyperactive, knucklehead ninja. And, well, Nami... There's not many words for Nami." Kakashi said. I grinned and flashed him a thumbs up.

"You've got that right!" I yelled back at him.

"No matter. You leave me no choice." Haku said. He was still wearing his mask, but I could tell he was looking straight at me. "I'm sorry it's come to this."

Haku was suddenly surrounded in a haunting blue aura. The air became incredibly cold, and I let off an unintended shiver.

"Secret jutsu... Crystal ice mirrors!" Haku yelled.

Oh shit.

Mirrors surrounded me and Sasuke, and I was panicking. I had pieced together bits and pieces of Haku's kekkai genkai from hearing him and Zabuza talk, but there was one thing I knew for sure.

No one had ever escaped.

I shuddered thinking of what it would be like to be caught in this thing. When I looked at Sasuke, he seemed as terrified as I was. Haku slowly drifted into a mirror, and my eyes widened as he appeared in each one. I knew that just running out had absolutely no chance of working, so instead I looked directly at the Haku that had appeared first.

"Haku... Please. You don't have to do this. You and Zabuza... I want to help you. Stop this. Leave behind this life. I'll help you two, I know I can!" I said to him, by voice raising towards the end. Sasuke sent me a curious look, obviously wondering why I would ever offer to help the two criminals. I just looked away, not meeting his questioning eyes. Haku stayed silent for a moment before answering.

"I'm sorry Nami. No matter how much I wish to accept your offer, I must follow Zabuza's orders." He answered. My heart fell at hearing those words. Sure, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but that hadn't stopped me from hoping.

"Why?" I asked him quietly. "Why do you follow him so blindly?"

"He saved me. He gave me a purpose."

"Let me save you then! Let me help you find a new purpose! You and Zabuza both!" I yelled. Once again, Haku was silent for a while.

"We don't need saving." He answered emotionlessly, pulling out his needles. He quickly began throwing the needles at me and Sasuke, creating cuts all over our bodies.

And holy shit did it hurt.

Sasuke was soon on his knees, doing his best to shield himself from the pain. I quickly followed, doing the same. I did my best to focus on anything that wasn't the pain. Tearing open my eyes which were clenched shut, I peered out of the cage of mirrors. Kakashi and Zabuza were in the middle of a stare down, and Sakura was standing by doing nothing.

I managed a smile when she jumped forth, throwing a kunai at one of the mirrors. Sure, Haku caught it easily, but it was a start. At least she _did_ something. I'll have to train with her when this is all over. You know, make her less useless.

My shaky smile only widened when a shuriken hit Haku straight on the face, knocking him out of the mirrors.

It's about time that damn idiot showed up.

Seriously, how long was he going to keep me waiting?

Haku shakily stood up just as there was a large poof of smoke, signaling the arrival of my blonde best friend.

"Number one, hyperactive, knucklehead ninja..." Haku muttered as Naruto grinned.

"Naruto Uzumaki here to save the day, believe it!" I managed to sit up, and frowned when I realized that he had lost the element of surprise. A glance at Sasuke showed me he was thinking the same thing.

"Ay Naruto!" I yelled. He tensed at the sound of my voice, and didn't look over to me yet. "Idiot, you could have snuck up on them! I finally come back, and you're still an idiot." I teased him, smirking. Naruto's eyes finally made their way past the mirrors I was surrounded in to look at me, which probably wasn't a pretty sight.

I was cut up everywhere, but yet no vital spots had been hit, even though it would have been incredibly easy for Haku.

That softie.

When Naruto finally looked at me, he stared at me for about 5 seconds before moving.

"Nami?" He asked tentatively. I grinned.

"The one and only." Naruto beamed as tried to run over to me, but Zabuza sent a shuriken flying his way.

"Look out!" I screamed to Naruto. His eyes widened as he saw the weapon hurtling straight torwards him.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. The shuriken came dangerously close to hitting Naruto, before it was stopped by Haku's own needles. I raised my eyebrows and looked over to Haku questionably.

"Haku, what are you doing?" Zabuza asked him.

"I wish to fight these three on my own." Haku replied.

"So be it." Zabuza replied. Haku nodded before trying to walk back in the mirrors.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "I thought you were fighting me!"

"Don't worry Naruto. You and I will resume our fight soon." And with that, he disappeared back into the mirrors. Sasuke and I scanned the mirrors, waiting for Haku to appear once again.

That is, until someone had crashed into me, causing me to hit the ground. I almost pulled my katanas on the guy, until I realized it was just Naruto

"Nami!" He yelled happily as he hugged me. "I missed you so much!" I giggled lightly.

"I missed you to, Naruto." I told him before I reached a sudden realization.

"Naruto! Why the hell are you in here?!" I demanded. The boy looked confused.

"Huh? I snuck in here to save you guys, believe it!" I facepalmed.

"Idiot! We could have broken out if you had stayed outside and actually used your head for once!" Sasuke added.

"Oh gosh... I'M SORRY GUYS! I was just trying to help!" I sighed.

"It's alright Naruto.. But, erm, you mind getting off me?" I asked. Naruto finally seemed to realize the position we were still in. He was currently on too of me, with his hands on both sides of my waist. His face turned bright red and he quickly jumped up.

"Oh... I- um- sorry Nami..." He muttered sheepishly. I rolled my eyes.

"Idiot..." Sasuke muttered, but of course, Naruto managed to hear.

"Hey! You're the idiot, idiot!" He yelled at the Uchiha. I sighed.

"Alright, you're both idiots, now seriously, we need to find Ha- There!" I yelled pointing to one of the mirrors Haku had appeared in. When the boys looked where I was pointing though, he had already disappeared. They looked at me, confused, until we heard a chilling voice coming from behind us.

"Over here." It said. And with that, the pain started again.


	13. Chapter 13

"Over here." I heard Haku's voice say.

And then the pain started once again.

Haku's needles were crashing down on the three of us, to fast to even follow with the normal eye. When the storm of needles finally stopped, Naruto was the first to stand on his feet again.

"Where's the attack coming from?!" He yelled.

"No clue... but we've got to figure out which one is the real one." I said, analyzing Haku's shape in each mirror.

"Look into each mirror as hard as you like. You'll never find the secret." The Hakus all spoke in unison.

"OH YEAH? Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto yelled, creating about 50 sopies of himself and sending them all to attack the mirrors.

"No! Don't!" Sasuke yelled. My breath caught in my throat as I watched each and every Naruto get cut down in a matter of seconds, leaving only the real one.

"Naruto!" I gasped, running over to see if my friend was alright. I kneeled by his side when Haku began speaking again.

"These mirrors only reflect my image, allowing me to transport myself at light speed. In my eyes, you're moving in slow motion." He said.

"I got knocked down." Naruto began, looking at the gorund. "So what? I'll just get right back up. I'll never let it end here, because I have a dream! Someday I'll be respected in my village. I'll be the greatest Hokage! That's my dream!"  
I don't think Naruto realized how much his word affected Haku. In the week I had spent with him, I had learned that dreams were something that Haku holds very dear. I'd pieced together that that was what made him idolize Zabuza so much. Haku had been alone, dreamless and empty, until Zabuza came along and gave him the purpose he so desperately needed.

"Dreams are a beautiful thing, aren't they Haku?" I asked him quietly, hoping to get a reaction out of him. I felt his gaze shift from Naruto to me before he spoke.

"It was not my desire to be a shinobi. It's painful. I do not wish to kill you. But if you advance, I will have no choice. I will kill the kindness in my own heart, and fully emrece the shinobi way. And there will be no mercy. No turning back. You will fight for your dream, and I will fight for mine. And for the sake of that dream, if I must, I will act as a shinobi and _take your lives."_

"Well then. That put a damper on things." I commented, causing my teammates to break into a small smile.

"If I didn't get him the first time, I'll just do it again! Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto yelled. This time, when he attacked, I tried that eye chakra thingy. Sending some of my chakra to my eyes, I was able to see some of his movements. Not that it helped me much, but hey, it's a start. I noticed Sasuke was doing the same.

Once again, in only a few seconds, Naruto was taken down. That continued for a bit. Naruto attacking with shadow clones, Sasuke and I following his movements with our eyes. Each time, the three of us would just get knocked back down.

It was looking pretty hopeless.

Ehhh, I'm not one to give up so easily. Might as well keep going.

Anyway, Sasuke started doing his fire blow thingy at Haku when he flew out of the mirrors. He ended up landing a hit on him. I turned to look at Sasuke and narrowed my eyes at him.

"What?" He asked, glaring at me. I crossed my arms.

"I'm pissed." He sighed.

"What now?"

"You landed a hit on Haku, and I didn't! I need to learn some more fancy ninjutsus..." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Yeah! How'd someone like you get a hit on the guy, Sasuke?!" Naruto demanded.

"It's because I'm better than you two." He answered. I could tell he was just teasing, but Naruto obviously couldn't. He glared at the Uchiha like there was no tomorrow. I scoffed.

"You wish, Uchiha."

"I'll just have to prove it to you then." He said to me before changing the subject. "Naruto, can you do it again?"

"Of course I can, believe it!" The blonde yelled. He didn't want to admit it, but we could all tell he was exhausted. I sighed.

"Be careful, Naruto." I said. He nodded quickly before attacking once again with his shadow clones. Sasuke got close, but didn't hit again. We were all panting and exhausted at this point.

"Naruto, Nami, make a break for it! Attack from the outside!" Sasuke yelled at us. I raised an eyebrow at him, and in return he sent me a look saying 'just do it.' I sighed and nodded. Naruto and I exchanged a look before charging in different directions. Haku went for Naruto first, and Sasuke sent a fireball his way, which Haku just managed to dodge, before sending a needle straight into Sasuke's shoulder. I gasped but forced myself to keep running. Haku sent Naruto flying back towards the middle, and in a second he kincked me as well, neither of us making it outside.

"So um, did that help acheive anything?" I asked Sasuke. He nodded.  
"I can feel his slowing down. Again!" He ordered, and this time all three of us tried to run outside.

But Haku was done playing games.

His needles lodged into each of our bodies, making it harder to move. We all fell to the ground, panting and in pain. I looked over to my two teammates.

"You guys alright?" I asked them, concern making it's way into my voice.

"Just fine, believe it..." Naruto murmured, and I could tell he was too weak to keep fighting.

"Sasuke, help me. We've got to keep Naruto safe." I said to my teammate. He looked at me and then Naruto for a moment, before nodding.

And then the needles were coming down. Again.

Seriously, does Haku have like an endless supply of these things or something? Because this is just ridiculous.

I jumped to my feet and pulled out my katanas. The needles seemed to almost slow down thanks to my fancy eyes, and I was able to deflect or dodge mot of the needles. Together, Sasuke and I were able to protect Naruto.

"Naruto, how you doing back there?" I said over my shoulder. Before he could answer, Sasuke cut in.

"Come on Naruto, we can't keep protecting you like this!" He yelled.

"Then don't. I never... asked for your help..." I heard a groan, and when I turned around, Naruto had passed out.

"Why am I not surprised?" I asked sarcastically. Sasuke shook his head.

"Because it's Naruto, that's why."

"Fair enough." I replied. "So, Haku, any chance you'll let us out of here? Naruto's not in top notch condition, if you couldn't tell." I said with a smile as I gestured towards my fainted teammate.

"I can't do that. I have to say though, I am impressed. Your learning how to utilize your kekkai genkai Nami, and that's how you can track my movements. But you," he directed to Sasuke, "I don't understand how you can. I should be invisible to the human eye." I giggled.

"Sasuke's full of tricks, Haku. You learn that when you've been around him for long enough. You don't even get surprised by things like this."

"Was that a compliment?" Sasuke asked me.

"Take it any way you like, duck butt." I answered with a smirk. "Anyway, can you handle Haku for a minute? I want to check on Naruto." Sasuke nodded, so I quickly went over to examine my teammate. I breathed a sigh of relief when I had determined that he had only fainted from exhaustion. I heard Haku's chuckle from behind me.

"You can't revive him. He's reached his limit." Haku said. I scoweled at him before my glare lightened and I smiled.

"Naruto doesn't have limits, Haku." I told him, just as Sasuke threw a kunai at him, which Haku easily caught.

"Everyone has limits, Nami. You two are nearing your limits as well. Your movements are becoming sloppy, your judgement is worsening, your reflexes are slower. Slowly but surely, your abilities are weakining. Now _you're finished!_" Haku said. While he was talking, he had been dissapearing and reappearing in the mirrors, going from one to the next, taunting Sasuke and I. I was focusing on his movements, bracing myself for him upcoming attack, ready to jump out of the way.

I sort of may have possibly broken my concentration when I heard Naruto cough.

I quickly swiveled around and kneeled back down by his side, completely forgetting the battle happening around,

Yeah, it was a dumbass move.

Because as soon as I stopped focusing, Haku threw his needles, staright at Naruto and I. I pretty much thought we were done for.

Until Sasuke, had followed Haku's movements, realized where his needles were going, grabbed Naruto and I, and pulled us to safety, all in a matter of seconds. I looked at my teammate in awe once he had set Naruto and I down.

"Okay, not cool. You really just love to show me up don't you duck- HOLY SHIT YOUR EYES ARE RED." I yelled when he finally looked into my eyes. "Is that the sharingmambo thing?" Sasuke glared at me.

"Sharingan." He corrected. "You know about it?" I nodded.

"Kakashi's spared me a few lectures on it. Including the clan the it belongs to, a.k.a. yours." I said. He nodded. Both of us had kept this conversation without taking our eyes, that could follow his movements, off Haku. I smirked when I realized Haku was running out of options. Since Sasuke and I could follow his movements, he was practically just waisting chakra right now. There wasn't much he could do to us, and I could see the gears turning in Haku's head as he realized this as well.

Knowing all that, I really should've seen what was coming next.

Well, like I said, I could be a bit of a dumbass.

So when Haku used his most logical option, attacking Naruto, I wasn't prepared. Not at all. Naruto couldn't do anything to defend himself, and this next hit could kill him. And so, I did what came most natural.

I jumped in front of Naruto.

I was completely ready to take the hit for him. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that this wasn't the right choice. I would die protecting him in a heartbeat. All of them. Naruto. Sasuke. Sakura. Kakashi. Neji. Tenten. Lee. Shikamaru. Hinata. Kiba. Even Zabuza and Haku.

They had each given me a little peice of happiness. In the back of my mind, I knew that before I had awoken outside of Konoha, I didn't have happiess. And that's why I would give my life for them. They're each amazing people, even if some of them don't realize it themselves.

The needles seemed to come at me in slow motion as all of this went through my head. I laughed at myself silently when I realized how dramatic I was being.

Well, a dramatic death is a good death in my mind. And with that, I closed my eyes, waiting for the presumably last hit I would ever experience.

But it never came.

I slowly opened one eye, wondering what the hell happened. As soon as I saw who was standing in front of me though, the other shot open.

It was Sasuke. Sasuke was standing directly in front of me, tons of needles sticking out of his body. He was battered and bloody, and panting heavily, his breathing forced. He had taken the hit. He had taken the hit for me and Naruto both. I heard Naruto wake up behind me slowly.

"Hey, you beat him guys!" He yelled happily. I stayed frozen, my horrified gaze never leaving Sasuke. My eyes were too wide, too terrified. My body was shaking uncontrollably, yet when I tried, I couldn't move a muscle.

"No." I whispered quietly. I think at this point Naruto had realized what had really happened. He ha a look on his face almost as horrified as my own.

"You... should see the look on your face. You... You look like a total loser." Sasuke breathed out shakily. Naruto leaned up quickly.

"Wh- why did you save us? Why did you do it?" Naruto asked Sasuke quietly.

"I don't... know why." Sasuke gasped and began falling backwards. I finally regained the feeling in my body, and managed to tell it to move. I lurched forward and caught Sasuke before he hit the ground. His eyes looked straight into mine, which were filled with tears and regret. "I just did." He finished, still gazing right into my eyes. I shook as sobs overtook my body, but I kept myself from crying out.

"You idiot." I whispered shakily as I cradled his body. My head was tilted down, and my long, blonde, and bloodstained hair spilled everywhere. Naruto ran over to us, and fell to his knees as well.

"I hated you two." Sasuke muttered.

"Then why?! Why would you give up your life for us?" I asked, far louder than I intended. Naruto flinched when my voice raised.

"I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for either of you to try to save me!" Naruto added.

"I don't know. My body just moved." Sasuke replied, tears gathering in his eyes as well. That only made my tears come stronger, as they fell quickly. Normally I would wipe them away in an instant, not showing any weakness, but that was the last thing on my mind right now. Sasuke gave a loud gasp, and his breathing became even more forced.

"He's... still out there. My brother. I promised myself... I'd stay alive... Long enough to kill him. Naruto... Nami... Don't let your dreams die." His words were forced and weak. His hand reached up, and so he wouldn't strain himself I quickly grabbed it, and held it in my own, rubbing the back of it with my own.

"You're going to be fine. Everything's going to be fine. Stop talking like this is the last time we'll ever talk. Stop it, Sasuke, stop it, stop it, stop it!" I said frantically as I rocked back and forth. His eyes strained to meet mine again.

"Maybe... Maybe I didn't hate you... so much after all." He said. I stopped rocking and stared back into his eyes, looking for something, anything, to show in them.

But it was too late. His grip on my hand had weakened, and his eyes had a vacant look in them. His chest had stopped moving.

"No." I muttered. "No, no, no, no, no! This is just a dream. Everything's still going to be fine, right Naruto? Sasuke's going to be fine, right Naruto?" My voice sounded so pleading, so weak. I hated it. I didn't want to be weak. I didn't want this.

Naruto didn't answer me. Instead, with tears in his eyes, he leaned down and hugged Sasuke's lifeless body. I faintly heard footsteps walking towards us.

"He sacrificied himself to save you two. He was a true shinobi. Is this the first time you've seen a friend die, Nami? Naruto?"

I heard the voice. I knew it was there. Yet it was almost as if it was in an entirely different world than my own. My world consisted of only what was right in front of me. Sasuke. A dead, still Sasuke. I stared blankly at the body, not truly processing anything that was happening around me.

"Shut up." I heard someone say. "I... I hated you too, Sasuke. And yet..._ You'll pay for this_." Even in my own little world, I could feel the bloodlust and pure hate that had suddenly entered the air. In the corner of my eye, I saw that an evil, red chakra had surrounded me.

**_"I'm gonna kill you." _**The voice I heard was so haunting, so full of hate, it sent shivers down my spine. And when my brain realized who it belonged to, I was finally snapped out of my frozen state.

"Naruto?" I asked, looking up. My friend looked terrifying, it almost made me want to run. To run and get as far away from him as I possibly could. I quickly shook the thoughts out of my head. This is Naruto. He would never hurt me. At that moment, Naruto sent a superhuman punch straight to Haku's face, destroying the prison of mirrors that surrounded us.

I looked back down at my teammate who still layed unbelievably still, ignoring whatever was happening around me.

Haku did this. Haku killed Sasuke. _He killed him. _

I felt a strange, unbelievable fury surround me. I wanted nothing more than to kill Haku at that moment. A deep blue chakra began to leak from my body. I would kill Haku. I would make Haku pay.

...Wait a second.

These needles don't even puncture any vital spots. And this is Haku. He wouldn't kill Sasuke, not after seeing how much he means to Naruto and I. And don't forget that whole temporary death thing he can do.

Sasuke is alive.

I know it.

* * *

**A/N:**

**HELLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

**Have you all had a good day?**

**I didn't. I had an extremely shitty day. But thats okay! Because review make everything better and I just know you guys are going to leave me tons of them. *wink wink* *nudge nudge* *HINT HINT***

**Anyway, WOOOO! We're almost done with the land of waves arc! Guess what's next?**

**You've got it! FILLER! YAYYYYYYYYY!**

**Just keeeeeding ;) THE CHUNIN EXAMS! YAYYYYYY!**

**oh, and just so you know, I write more when I'm in a good mood, and I'm in a good mood when I get reviews. Therefore, if you want the next chapter, YOU BEST GET OFF YO ASS AND GIMME MY REVIEWS.**

**Ehehehehehehe. I love you? No, really, I do. **

**So um, review?**

**Nami: God Sarah, no ones going to keep reading if you keep saying stuff like that.**

**Me: YES THEY WILL! THEY LOVE ME!**

**Nami: No they don't. They only put up with you because they love and want to read about me. Duh.**

**Me: Okay. That one hurt.**

**Nami: Good!**

**Me: You know what? You are soooooooo dying next chapter.**

**Nami: At least people will actually care when I die.**

**Me: R U SERIOUS BRO? What did I do to deserve this? I CREATED YOU!**

**Nami: That means nothing. Well everybody, review, favorite and follow so you'll see more of me! Toodles!**

**Me: You seriously just said said toodles. I've created a monster.**

**Nami: A beautiful monster. *winks* BYE EVERYBODY! SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER FOR MY _DEATH!_**


	14. Chapter 14

No sooner than when I reached the conclusion Sasuke had to be alive , when I looked up to see Naruto about to send a punch straight to Haku's exposed face. His mask had to have been knocked off.

No! I have to stop Naruto! He'll kill Haku! I have to keep the promise I made, to protect them, all of them! I already broke that promise once, I'm not doing it again!

I pushed chakra into my feet, and made my way between Naruto and Haku, grabbing Naruto's fist and sending him a comforting smile. When I noticed Naruto was still shaking from rage, I pulled him into a tight embrace, which he stiffened at, before he returned it, squeezing me tightly.

"It's okay Naruto. Sasuke's alive, trust me." I could tell he didn't believe me, but he didn't press it anyway.

"Why, Nami?" I heard Haku's voice come from behind me, so I released Naruto and turned to face him. "Did I not just kill one that you two cared deeply about? To allow those who hurt the one you care for to live when you could bring them down; that is not compassion. It is a betrayal of your life's very purpose. For what reason would you exist then? You're of use to no one. Your lives have no meaning. It is mere existence. Day after day of painful struggle, signifying nothing." I took a deep breath and grabbed Naruto's hand in my own, attempting to calm both myself and him.

"That was a nice speech and all Haku, but we both know that you're talking to yourself far more than you are to Naruto or I." I said as I smiled at him. "I know that you feel as if Zabuza is your only reason to live, but he isn't. But if you keep doing what you're doing now, you'll never find those reasons. You're a good person, Haku. Full of warmth and kindness. And if you let them in, people will see that. They'll grow to see what kind of person you really are, and care about you. Just like I have. They'll give you that other reason to live that you need." Haku looked at me for a moment before smiling.

"Thank you Nami. The past week that I've spent with you has helped both me and Zabuza in ways that you will never realize. We have both done such terrible things, and yet you seemed to be able to look past them. It was something we had never known before. And for that, I am truly grateful to you." He paused before continuing. "But I cannot abandon my purpose. Not until the very end. And until then, my purpose lies with Zabuza."

"Why him? Why would you devote your life to such a rotten bastard?! If he's the only one you truly care about, well that's the saddest thing I've ever heard!" Naruto yelled. I squeezed his hand tighter in an effort to calm him.

"There was once other people I cared about. My mother and father. We were happy. A family. But they were taken from me. And it wasn't until then that I truly despaired. Because not only had I lost my mother and father, but I had lost something even more valuable." Haku said.

"Your purpose." I finished for him. Haku nodded.

"I was all alone. There was not one person in the world who needed me. I was... Unnecessary." Haku said. I felt Naruto stiffen at that, and I knew it was because he realized just how alike him and Haku were.

"Why is it that you desire so much to become Hokage of your village? It's because you want all eyes in your village to look on you and recognize you as a great ninja. You see it as only through the eyes of others do our little lives have any significance. When there is no one who sees you or will even look at you it's as though you do not exist.

"Then Zabuza came along and looked at me, and his eyes were not full of hate or fear. He did not shun me for my strangeness. Indeed, my special powers were just what he wanted. He made me necessary again. I was happy." I watched Haku sadly. I had priced together bits and pieces of Haku's past... But I never imagined... This. I guess I could finally understand why Zabuza meant so much to him.

"I have failed you Zabuza. I am like a weapon that had been broken, and is of no further use." Haku said before stepping towards Naruto and I.

"Naruto... Nami... Kill me."

I jerked up and looked Haku dead in the eyes.

"Haku... Why the hell would you want that?!" I asked him.

"I am no longer of any use. I am broken, worthless. So please, end me. Do it. Quickly." I snatched my hand out of Naruto's, before stomping over to Haku. And engulfing him in a hug. I heard a sharp intake of breath as I hugged him.

"Stop thinking like that." I whispered. "Didn't you hear me? I care about you. You're of use to me. And if that's not good enough, than Zabuza still needs you too! Just because you couldn't do something this time around, doesn't mean that you won't be able to help him next time! Don't give up like this, Haku. You're better than that. I know you are." Haku sighed before he gave me a small hug back.

"What makes you so different, Nami? Why do you hold such faith in Zabuza and I?" I hesitated before answering.

"I've been blessed enough to see the good in you two. And I know that the good can win out." Haku smiled and we stayed like that for a few seconds. I could practically feel Naruto's confusion behind me.

"Uhhhhh Nami? What the hell is going on here-" He said before I cut him off.

"Shush." I said lifting an arm and finger, gesturing for him to be quiet. "You're ruining the moment." I whispered. Haku chuckled softly, and his gaze suddenly shifted to where Zabuza and Kakashi were fighting. He suddenly pushed me off.

"Sorry Nami, Naruto, change of plans." I looked towards Zabuza and Kakashi, and I finally realized what was happening. Kakashi was charging towards Zabuza using chidori, and Haku was planning to jump in front to save Zabuza.

Of fuck no. I ain't letting that happen after all this hard work.

And so, not really having any idea what I planned on doing, I once again gathered my chakra into my feet, and burst off, traveling incredibly fast. I had about four seconds until Kakashi reached Zabuza.

3. Kakashi was getting closer, but so was I.

2. Haku had appeared in front of Zabuza, but it was too late for Kakashi to turn back. He had already gathered too much momentum.

1. I was standing in front of both Zabuza and Haku.

0.

I gasped as Kakashi's hand plunged through my stomach. He had been aiming for Zabuza's vital spots, but due to our tremendous height difference, he hadn't hit mine. The pain hit me like nothing I had ever felt before.

I should have been dead almost immediately, but I'm guessing Kakashi had done his best to weaken the blow. Kakashi's eyes widened when he saw it was me.

"No." He whispered. "Not again." I managed a smile, but I could feel myself getting drowsy. Kakashi pulled his hand out immediately, tears already gathering in his eyes. I wobbled shakily, and began to fall backwards, before Haku caught me in his arms, tears in his eyes as well.

"Why would you do this, Nami? Why would give up your life for me and Zabuza?" I smiled again, and tried to answer, but broke into a coughing fit. My blood was spilling everywhere, and it was only a matter of time.

"Get away from her." I heard Kakashi say. When Haku made no sign to move, Kakashi said it again. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" He yelled. This time, Haku obeyed, handing me off to Kakashi. Kakashi kneeled on the ground and pressed his hands to my open wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"You're going to be fine, Nami." Kakashi said hysterically. I heard footsteps running over and soon enough, Naruto had joined us.

"Kakashi... What happened?" Naruto asked, his voice shaking. Our sensei didn't answer him though. I expected Zabuza to be attacking us by now, but instead he just stared at me in shock. He took a few steps closer to me.

"Kid... Why? We did nothing but try to use you as a tool. I don't understand."

"I SAID STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Kakashi bellowed, causing Naruto to flinch. I heard more footsteps approaching, and sobs coming from Sakura as she grabbed my hand. I laid a shaky hand on Kakashi's arm, trying to comfort him.

"Don't blame... Them Kakashi. I did this... to protect them. It's not... Your fault... Or their's..." I forced out. Tears were openly falling down Kakashi's face. I turned my gaze to Haku and Zabuza. It shocked me to see that Zabuza was actually showing emotion.

"Please... Give yourselves better lives... Don't let this be in vain." My breath was becoming more and more shaky, and everything was numbing.

"Naruto... Sakura... I'll miss you two. So... Much." This only caused the two to sob even more.

"Nami, no, we just got you back! You can't leave us now!" Sakura told me. I smiled at her.

"Promise me... You'll stop following Sasuke around like a lost puppy... And you'll become... The great kunoichi I know you can be." She nodded quickly.

"I promise Nami, I promise!"

"Kakashi... Help Haku and Zabuza... Give them a home... In Konoha... Tell the Hokage... It was my last wish..." Kakashi clutched me tighter.

"Why?" Haku whispered again. I smirked.

"How many times... Do I got to say it..? I've seen the good... In you two... So stop pretending... It's not there... And I care about... You..." I breathed heavily. In all honesty, I had no clue why I wasn't dead yet. I should have bled out already, but it seemed as if my body was fighting it somehow. The bleeding was slower than it should have been.

"Some long... Last words... Huh? I wouldn't want to die... Any other way..." I said, hoping they knew what I meant. Dying protecting someone I cared about was all I could wish for.

"I love.. You guys..." I tried to take another breath, but my chest wouldn't allow it. So I gave up trying. And with that, my heart stopped beating.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well everybody, it looks like this is the end. Nami has reached the end of her run, and thus, so has this fanfiction. It's been a great ride, despite how short it was. **

**Yes, Nami is really dead. After this, the Naruto storyline continues pretty much normally, after team 7 finishes mourning. In fact, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura become even stronger, the death of their teammate fueling their drive to become great ninja.**

**I will be coming back to this story every once in a while, uploading one shots to answer some of the questions that were left unanswered. Who is Nami? What happened to her brother? What really happened to the Kiyomizu clan? Who is the man from her dreams? Why did Nami not die instantly from the chidori? Where has Nami been before she showed up outside Konoha? Why were her memories erased? What was up with that one dream she had? And one of the most important questions of all, how does this affect team 7 and the other villagers?**

**If you noticed, I sort of teased that this was going to happen last chapter in my authors note. This is a route that almost never happens; a main character dying, and the story continuing without them. Yet if many of these stories were real, there would be a high possibility of it happening. And Nami did die doing what she does best, helping and protecting others.**

**It was heartbreaking to write this chapter, but it had to be done. I hope you all will forgive me. It may be a while before I start the series of oneshots without Nami being in it, so until then, this is Sarah Unicornsmith,**

**Signing off.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Third POV:**

Kakashi was shaking as he watched his student bleed out right in front of him.

He was supposed to protect her.

He was supposed to keep her from harm.

Look where that had gotten him.

Instead of keeping her safe, he was the one to have hurt her. Ironic, isn't it?

He had taken her in. Cared for. Grown to see her as his own daughter. It had been a while since he had cared for people like that.

But Nami wormed her way in. She seemed to do that a lot. Without realizing it, she made her way into people's hearts. No matter who you show her, she seemed to always be able to look past the way everyone else sees them. She looked past where everyone else stopped. It made sense that she would do something like this.

Kakashi had seen comrades die before. Like Rin. It's almost funny how similar their deaths were turning out to be.

A death at his own hands.

He wondered what he had done to deserve this. Was he really that bad of a person? All he had been doing was trying to protect his team. To keep them safe.

So why was one of them, the one who had seen the parts of him no one else had, dying in his arms?

Sakura was crying uncontrollably, clutching her friend's cold hand tightly. Naruto had collapsed onto his knees, sitting in what looked like absolute shock. Tazuna looked away, not wanting to watch the young girl's death. Haku and Zabuza made no move to attack, Nami's last words supposedly reaching them.

"I love... you guys..." Nami whispered. She attempted to take in another breath, but her lungs wouldn't allow it. Her eyes flickered, and Sakura gasped when her friend's grip on her hand dissapeared.

She was gone.

Kakashi stared blankly at his student for a minute, almost as if he was waiting for her to jump up, strike a pose and yell, 'Ha! I got you guys good!' He would have chuckled at the thought if not for the circumstances.

She never did.

Kakashi leaned down and closed her eyes, before gently setting her down on the ground. There would be time for mourning later. Right now, his team needed him. He couldn't show weakness now. Instead, he stood up and turned to face Zabuza and Haku.

"So? What's it going to be? You heard what Nami wanted for you. She gave her life for it. I'll do everything I can to make it happen. Are you going to let her death be in vain, or are you going to turn your life around?"

Kakashi could see the inner turmoil going on in Zabuza's head. Haku looked up at Zabuza, waiting to hear his decision. Haku would follow Zabuza where ever he went, so the choice was his. Zabuza took a deep breath.

"We'll-" He began before Sakura came to a sudden realization.

"Naruto, where's Sasuke?" She asked, her voice incredibly weak and shaky. Naruto immediately tensed and didn't look up to meet her eyes.

"He's alive." Haku said. Naruto jerked up.

"What?" He said.

"It's a temporary death state. He should be waking up soon." Sakura nodded and pushed herself up slowly, before running over to where Sasuke layed, wanting to get away from the utter despair that was surrounding Nami's lifeless body.

"Nami knew. She knew you didn't kill him." Naruto said, sniffling. Haku nodded.

"I don't know how." He said, before continuing. "I never understood half the things about her."

"You're too soft, Haku." Zabuza muttered, looking up at the sky. For a minute, Kakashi thought that it would all be over. That Zabuza woud give up this life, and follow Nami's last wishes. But then, they all heard the echoing footsteps that were nearing them. Kakashi looked towards the source, to find Gato and his group of thugs.

"Well, well, well. So this is how it turns out. The demon of the hidden mist is just a big softie after all. And look at that little girl, lying there in her own blood. Looks like she was all talk after all. _Pathetic._" Gato said mockingly. Zabuza snarled at the men.

"What the hell are you doing here, Gato? And why are these thugs with you?" Zabuza asked.

"You see, Zabuza, you're too expensive. And it looks like you wouldn't get the job done anyway. So, instead, you'll be dying on this bridge, along with that little girl."

"Well, Kakashi, it looks as if our fight is over. I have no desire left to kill Tazuna, especially now that I wouldn't be payed to do so. We have no quarrel." Zabuza said.

"Looks like it." Kakahsi replied. Gato took a few steps forward towards Nami's body, which was lying a few feet away from the group.

"That reminds me, this little shit alomost killed me. Well, I've been meaning to repay her for that!" He yelled as he kicked Nami straight in the face. Haku flinched, obviously wanting to stop him.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Naruto yelled, tears streaming down his face as he tried to attack Gato. Kakashi grabbed the back of his shirt, keeping him from going any further.

"Naruto! Use your head! You're only going to get hurt if you do that!" Kakashi said. As much as Kakashi wanted to kill the man right then and there as well, if he rushed in, it would only put the rest of his team in danger. He had already lost Nami, he wouldn't put anyone else in danger.

But Naruto wouldn't have it. He struggled and kicked, doing everything he could to get away from Kakashi's grip.

"LET ME GO! You're going to let him talk to Nami like that?! And what about you, Zabuza?! Haku?! She died for you, and you're just going to stand by and watch her get treated like this?! She had faith in you two, HER LAST WISH WAS FOR YOU TO HAVE A BETTER LIFE! And you're just going to stand by while this happens? After all she did, does she truly mean nothing to you?!" Naruto bellowed at the two shinobi, who didn't dare meet Naruto's eyes. When they didn't answer, Naurto continued.

"Well she was sacrificing everything for you, she still meant nothing?! She threw her life away. She threw away everything that she had. And for what?! You and your dreams? She believed in you two, and this is how you repay her? She kept saying she saw the good in you! So where is it?! Because all I see right now are two monsters!" Naruto yelled, more and more tears falling down his face face.

"Naruto-" Kakashi tried.

"SHUT UP! If these two really won't do anything to help Nami, then she really did die in vain! She died trying to save two people who didn't give a damn about her! How dare you? We all cared about Nami, and now she's gone! She's gone, because she wanted to save you! And there's nothing I can do about it! You're nothing but rotten monsters!" The two criminals stayed incredibly still after hearing Naruto's words. Not a sound was made, until Zabuza and Haku's tears hit the ground.

"Shut up, boy. Your words cut deep, deeper than any blade. You think we didn't know that?" Zabuza said.

"Nami died for us. And so, I will gladly die for her." Haku said, looking up to Zabuza to see what he would do. Zabuza nodded at the boy.

"Nami... She was too kind. Her kindness is the reason she's dead now. And Haku... He's always been too soft. Feeling sorrow and pain. And damn them, now I feel it too!" Zabuza yelled, ripping off the bandages that were wrapped around his face. "Well? Cat got your tongue? Are you so surprised to learn that we're actually human? Even shinobi are human, boy, and no matter how hard we try to escape that simple fact, we always fail." Zabuza smirked.

"Well, Haku, You ready?" Zabuza asked.

"Of couse, Zabuza." Haku nodded. The two were just about to charge forawrd, when Kakashi interrupted them.

"Mind if I join you two?" Kakashi inquired, walking towards them. At the momennt, Kakashi was doing anything he could to keep his mind off of Nami. Zabuza turned around to face the ninja.

"Not at all." He said smirking. Naruto objected, asking to come too, but one look from Kakashi silenced him. Instead, he kneeled by Nami's body, holding her cold hand. The three were almost completely out of chakra, and incredibly weak. But none of that mattered. And with that, they charged.

* * *

**Nami's POV:**

I felt a faint flick on my forehead. Then another. And another. And anoth- okay seriously, who the hell is doing that?

My eyes snapped open and I lifted my fist, ready to punch the bastard right in the face. I stopped when I saw a little girl no older than 6 years old, who looked exactly like... me?

"What the hell?" I asked. The little girl pouted.

"That's not a nice word, Nami-chan!" She said.

"And who the he- who are you?" I corrected myself. She beamed.

"I'm Nami-chan!" She said happily. I blinked once. Twice. Three times.

"Erm... I'm pretty sure I'm Nami." I finally said. She just smiled.

"You are!"

"Then how are you Nami?" I asked the little girl. She seemed to consider this, almost as if she had forgotten the answer, before a look of realization spread across her face.

"Oh! I remember! It's because I'm you!"

...

...

"What?"

"I'm you, silly!"

"You're saying that I'm talking to myself."

"Yep!"

"...How, exactly?"

"Oh, we're in your mind!"

"You're really bad at explaining things, you know that?"

"Oh, um, sorry. Since you're dead for now, you're in here!"

"I'm _what?_"

"You're dead! Don't you remember?"

And suddenly, I did. Everything that happened came rushing back, all at once.

"Oh yeah. I died protecting Haku and Zabuza."

"Yep! I was really proud of us for doing that!" I stared at her.

"So, um, how do I get out of here?"

"You have to wait until you come back to life!"

"I'm coming back to life?" I asked calmly.

"Mmhmm! It'll probably take a while, though. We have this really cool chakra in us, it doesn't wanna let us die yet for some reason! I think it's healing us right now."

"Oh. Um, that's nice? What exactly is this mysterious chakra?" I asked.

"I dunno."

"You're not much of a help, you know that?" I told the little girl.

"Yeah... Sorry about that!" I was silently taking everything in for a minute before I spoke up again.

"Wait a second, does that mean my missing memories are in here?" I asked. The girl pouted.

"Yeah, they're behind that giant door. It's all chained up though, and I can't get past it." I finally took a look around where we were. It was a giant, black, empty room other than the giant door the little me spoke of.

"Wow. I expected my mind to be more... colorful." I said.

"Oh, it is! This is the most boring part of your mind. The place is huge and has almost everything you could ever imagine! Flying pancakes, unicorns, talking banannas, you name it!"

"HOLY CRAP MY MIND HAD PANCAKES, UNICORNS, **AND** BANANNAS?" I exploded. The girl laughed.

"Of course! It wouldn't be our mind if it didn't!"

"Well how do I get there? This place is boooring." The girl pouted again.

"I dunno. When you appeared, we just got locked in here."

"So I'm locked im my mind, and I can't even explore it?"

"Nope! But I do have cards! We can play go fish!"

"Do you know any better games?" I asked the girl. She thought for a moment.

"Nope!"

_3 hours later_

"HOW THE HELL IS A 6 YEAR OLD BEATING ME IN GO FISH?!" I yelled to no one. " I HAVEN'T WON ONE STINKING GAME!" The little girl laughed.

"It's because I'm better than you!"

"The 6 year old version of me is better than the current me?!"

"Yep!"

"Ugh. This is annoying. When the hell am I gonna get out of here?" The girl shrugged.

"Your body is almost healed, so pretty soon." Immediately after she spoke, a glowing white light surrounded me. The girl frowned.

"Awww, but I was having so much fun with you!" She said. I smiled.

"Before I go, are you real, or did I just imagine this entire thing?"

"Well, you didn't imagine me, but I'm definitely not real!" I looked at the girl stangely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She shrugged.

"I dunno!" I sighed. The light was growing brighter, and I figured it was about time I woke up.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, little me."

"You too, Nami-chan!"

And then she dissapeared.

* * *

**A/N:**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Yeah, Nami's not dead.**

**I'm sorry! It's just, I couldn't resist! I'm a huge prankster in real life, and this opportunity was just right in front of me!**

**And technically, I didn't really lie... Nami really did die. And her temporary death does drive her teammates to become stronger, especially Sakura. You hear that? Sakura's going to become less useless! HALLELUJAH! Except about the part Nami wasn't going to be in the story anymore... yeah I lied about that.  
**

**So... I'm sorry? Ehehehehe... I love you?****  
**

**I love yous make everything better... right?**

**And trust me, Nami isn't coming back to life just because I don't want her to die yet. I would have been perfectly content with ending the story last chapter. But part of Nami's past... just won't allow that to happen. **

**You want to know what the hell I'm talking about, you say? **

**Woudn't you like to know? ;)**

**Only way to know is to keep reading... and review. THE MORE YOU REVIEW THE FASTER I UPLOAD. **

**Well, I hope none of you are angry by this 'cuz I love you.**

**REVIEWFAVORITEFOLLOW XD**


	16. Chapter 16

"FLYING PANCAKES!"

I jerked up and looked around to find I was in my room at Tazuna's, with a white sheet covering my body.

Guess they really thought I was dead.

Quickly pulling the sheet off of me, I found that the wound that should have been left from Kakashi's chidori was completely gone.

What. The. Hell.

HOW THE HELL IS THAT THING GONE? I mean, I get that little me said some chakra was healing me or something, but I didn't really believe her!

Pushing the thought aside, I though about how I should make my entrance. They all thought I was dead, so it had to be a good one. Ehhh, I'm too lazy to do anything elaborate though. I slowly pushed the door open, making sure no one outside would see me.

"Guys?" I heard Sakura say. "Did that door just open on it's own?" Fear made it's way into her voice. I held in a laugh. I heard Naruto gulp.

"Yeah..." He muttered.

"You guys are idiots. It was probably just the wind." Sasuke said.

"Sasuke... There's no wind inside." Sakura reminded him. Then it was Sasuke's turn to gulp.

I smirked and decided it was time to come outside. So, using my epic ninja skills, I did a fancy flip and handspring, landing in the hallway. I placed a hand on my hip, and pointed the other at my teammates.

"NAMI KIYOMIZU IS BACK, BITCHES!" I yelled happily. My team stared at me like I was a ghost. Which made sense.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing her right now." Naruto asked pleadingly. My other two teammates shook their heads, eyes never leaving me. I moved my hand which was pointing at my team down to my hips and frowned.

"Alright, seriously? I'm back from the dead and you guys are doing like nothing. You should be bowing down to me by now due to my epicness." I said sarcastically.

I think my team was going in to shock.

Their jaws dropped and they all gawked at me, not saying a word. I sighed.

"Okay, this is really getting old now. Will somebody say something already? You're making me feel really awkward." I said.

And then, in the blink of an eye, I was glomped by two of my teammates, Naruto and Sakura.

"HOW THE HELL ARE YOU HERE?!" Naruto yelled, choking me to death. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"If you don't let go soon... I will be." I choke out, coughing. He immediately let go, and so did Sakura.

"You jumped in front of Haku! Your heart stopped beating! YOU BLED OUT ON THE GROUND! This makes absolutely no sense!" Sakura yelled, walking back and forth frantically.

"Okay, you guys are seriously making it sound like you don't want me here." I said.

"OF COURSE WE WANT YOU HERE! BUT YOU WERE DEAD!" Naruto stated.

"Yeah, I realize that. But now I'm not!" I said happily. "Isn't that enough?" Suddenly, I felt a poke on the side of my cheek. I turned to see Sasuke glaring at my cheek.

"What the hell, duck butt?" I demanded. He didn't answer and instead poked my arm. "What. Are. You. Doing?" He frowned.

"Making sure you're real." He said.

"Noooo, you guys are having a group hallucination." I said sarcastically. He shrugged before turning away.

"It was a possibility." He said. I threw my hands up in the air.

"No it wasn't!" I yelled before sighing. "God, I'm really sick of having near death experiences by now."

"It wasn't near death, Nami, you were dead!" Naruto yelled, giving me another hug. I hugged him back this time, before shrugging.

"Same difference." I replied.

"NO! Not same difference! Near dead and actually dead are too very different things!" Sakura said, frowning at me. I sighed.

"I get it. I was dead, now I'm not for whatever reason. I have no idea what happened either. Are you guys sure I even died?" I asked. Sakura stopped pacing and sent me a flat look.

"Of course we're sure!" I threw my hands up in mock surrender.

"Just making sure, pinkette. Calm down." I said. She frowned.

"I really don't understand why I even miss you whenever you go away..." She muttered to herself. I smirked.

"It's because you lerhhhhv me." I mocked her. "You too, Uchiha." I said, elbowing him. "You better admit how much you missed me this time." He glared at me before his gaze softened and he smirked.

"Yeah. Maybe a little." He said. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

"Holy. Shit. The great Uchiha actually has emotions!" I yelled. Naruto smirked.

"You should have seen him when he woke up and we told him you died, Nami. He was sniffling and crying just like the rest of us." He told me, despite Sasuke sending him a killer glare. Suddenly, the smirk disappeared from his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Naruto started sniffling and his eyes started watering.

"It's just... I thought you were really gone, Nami!" He said, sniffling every few words. My eyes widened.

"No. No crying. Not when I just came back from the dead." I objected. Naruto quickly wiped his eyes, but they just watered right back up. Sasuke scoffed.

"Loser." He said, arms crossed. I sent him a glare. And then Sakura started sniffling.

"Oh god. Not you too, Sakura." I said.

"I'm sorry, Nami. I really did miss you, though!" She said. I sighed and spread my arms out.

"Alright. Come here you two. Bring it in." I said. They quickly obliged, and we found ourselves in yet another group hug. I looked over my shoulder to see duck butt scowling at us. I smirked.

"Get in here, Uchiha. You know you want to." I said. He glared at me and opened his mouth to retort, but before he could, I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the hug.

I really did love these guys. No matter how much it seemed otherwise sometimes.

A few seconds later, we all pulled apart.

"So how long was I out this time?" I asked.

"About a day." Sasuke responded. I whistled.

"God, I'm tired of missing so much. What happened after I, you know, died?" I asked.

"Well, this group of annoying thugs showed up with Gato, but Kakashi, Haku, and Zabuza took them all out and it was really cool! But then this other group of thugs showed up, and everyone was almost out of chakra, and it was looking pretty bad, until Inari showed up with the villagers and scared them all away!" Naruto told me. I smiled.

"Wait, where's everyone else?" I asked.

"Tazuna, Kakashi, Haku, and Zabuza are out... Digging your... Grave. Tsunami and Inari are out shopping." Sasuke said. I nodded.

"Well, we should probably go tell them to stop digging my grave, since, ya know, it won't really be necessary."

* * *

Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and I were walking to where my grave was supposed to be. Well, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto were walking.

I had jumped on Sasuke's back and demanded a piggy back ride, which he originally declined, but when I used to whole 'I just came back from the dead' thing, he agreed. Sakura was glaring at us and Naruto was smiling happily.

We were finally nearing the Jill that Kakashi, Haku and Zabuza were on. When their figures came into view, I decided it was time to announce myself.

"HEY GUYS! I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD! NO NEED TO DIG A GRAVE ANYMORE!" I yelled, my hands framing my mouth so the sound would carry further. I noticed Sasuke smirk and the three people who were digging my grave tense at my voice, their backs still to me.

"SHE'S NOT A GHOST, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto yelled as well. With this, the three ninja turned around, their faces showing pure shock and disbelief. I hopped off Sasuke's back, instead grabbing his and Naruto's hand, and running towards the group.

"Kid?" Zabuza asked cautiously. "How-?"

"You're alive?" Kakashi asked me.

"Course I am! I told you, I don't go down that easy." I said smirking. "And before you ask, I've got no clue how either. Woke up in my room with that white sheet over me just a little bit ago."

"You just... woke up?" Haku asked me. I nodded.

"Yep! Wound's all gone too, see?" I said, lifting my shirt a little. There was still a pretty large scar, but other than that, I was completely healed. Kakashi stared at me for a moment before pulling me into a hug.

"How many times are you going to scare me like that, Nami?" He asked quietly. I giggled.

"Don't worry about it Kakashi. I don't plan on dying again anytime soon."

"I always worry about you." He answered as he let me go. I laughed lightly before turning to Zabuza and Haku.

"So! You two! Please tell me you decided to listen to my last words?" I asked pleadingly. The two looked at each other for a second before Haku answered.

"Yes. We did." I literally jumped for joy.

"Yes!" I said, bumping my fist into the air in victory, before giving a hug to both Haku and Zabuza. "I've been giving out way to many hugs lately." I said.

"You can never have to many hugs!" Naruto said before glomping me again. I laughed.

"Yeah, guess you're right there." I said. "By the way, when are we going back home?"

"Well, right now, since we don't have to dig a grave anymore, and Zabuza and Haku have made their decision. The Hokage should welcome them into the village because of your faith in them, Nami, but they'll have to be watched by ANBU for a while to see if they're trustworthy." I grinned and that, and decided to jump on Kakahi's back this time as we walked back to Tazuna's, which he didn't object to, unlike Sasuke.

It's good to be back.

* * *

Currently, my team and I stood on the bridge, saying goodbye to Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami, along with some of the villagers who had come to see them off. Zabuza and Haku were waiting for us on the end of the bridge.

"We could never have finished the bridge without you. I can't tell you how much we're going to miss you." Tazuna said.

"Do be careful." Tsunami added with a smile.

"And no more dying you two, Sasuke, Nami." Tazuna added, which I giggled at.

"Promise. No more dying." I said.

"Now, now, don't get all choked up. We'll come back and visit real soon." Naruto said.

"You swear you will?" Inari asked, getting close to crying.

"Of course." Naruto said, voice cracking. "You know, Inari, it's alright to cry if you want. There's nothing wrong with that. Go for it!" Naruto added, daring Inari to cry first. I smiled lightly.

"Who said I was going to cry anyway? And if there's nothing wrong with it, why don't you go on and cry?!" Inari said.

"No! You first!" They then proceeding in having a stare off, neither wanting to cry first. Naruto then whipped around before crying waterfalls, and Inari quickly doing the same. I quickly glomped the little boy, not being able to stand seeing him cry.

"Don't cry Inari! I'm going to miss you!" I said. Inari sniffed.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Nami! You better come visit soon!" He told me. I smiled at him.

"You've got it." I ruffled his hair. "Be good, okay?" He nodded, and I gave him one last smile before turning around and walking away with my team.

"Dorks." I heard Sakura mutter. I quickly elbowed her, smirking.

"You're just jealous Inari likes me better." I told her. She huffed and turned away. I chuckled lightly, and jumped back on Kakashi's back. He sighed, but didn't object.

"You're going to get fat if you keep doing that." Sasuke said.

"Shush, Uchiha, I train practically every day. Skipping out on a little walking isn't going to do anything." I replied. He rolled his eyes. "Oh! By the way! How'd you like to come with me on my next training session, Sakura?" Her eyes, along with the rest of my team's widened, obviously surprised I would want to train with Sakura.

"Me?" She asked cautiously. I nodded.

"Yep! No offense, but you're not exactly the best ninja... But neither am I! So I was thinking we could start training together?" She stared at me for a minute before smiling largely.

"I'd like that a lot, Nami." She said. I smiled back at her. Naruto started laughing, obviously very happy.

"As soon as we get back, I'm going to have Iruka-sensei treat me to a ton of ramen to celebrate a mission accomplished! Oh, and just wait until I tell Konohamaru about all my adventures! The kid'll worship me!" He said happily, his hands folded behind his head. I giggled.

"Hey." Sakura said.

"Yeah?" Naruto responded.

"Not you, Naruto. Sasuke! When we get back do you want to do something together?" Sakura asked sweetly. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't think so. Thanks." Sasuske answered.

"Oh." Sakura muttered dejectedly.

"Sakura, I though you promised me not to follow Sasuke around like a lost puppy anymore." I scolded gently.

"What are you talking about, Nami? I'm not following him around like a lost puppy!" She objected. I sighed. It would take a bit of work getting Sakura to change her ways.


	17. Chapter 17

"We're here." I said smiling as I looked up to the gates of Konoha. Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto were smiling along with me, and Sasuke's lips turned up a little at the corners. Looked back at Haku and Zabuza, I was shocked to find that they actually looked nervous. Putting on the most comforting smile I could, I grabbed both of their hands in each of my own. "We'll be fine." I reassured both myself and them.

In all honesty I was terrified. I had seen the good people that Zabuza and Haku were, and knew they were trustworthy, but others hadn't. They could send Haku and Zabuza away in an instant, or worse, kill them.

Zabuza frowned when I had grabbed his hand and quickly pulled it away, causing me to chuckle. Haku released his hand in a much more gentle way, giving mine a small squeeze before letting go as well. Neither of them looked as nervous though, which was a good thing.

"You guys are going to love it here! It'll be great, believe it!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Mhmm." Kakashi agreed with a small smile.

They trip back to Konoha had been long, but it was a chance for my team and Zabuza and Haku to bond. Naruto, Haku and I spent the trip talking about Konoha and what Haku and Zabuza could expect. Zabuza stayed silent most of the time. I could already tell that Naruto and Haku were going to be great friends. Sasuke obviously didn't trust the former rogue ninjas yet, and made it clear in his signature glare. Shocker, right?

I figured it would be best to just give Sasuke time though. He'd warm up to them eventually. Then again... Maybe not... Considering he still hasn't warmed up to his own team.

Oh well.

Kakashi was still suspicious of Zabuza and Haku as well, though he didn't make it as obvious. He was constantly watching the two, only casually and out of the corner of his eye. I knew Kakashi wanted to trust them, considering how I was willing to give up my life for them, but he couldn't do it fully. I completely understood that though.

Sakura spent the trip either fawning over Sasuke, yelling at Naruto, or joining in on our conversations on Konoha every once in a while. I was starting to feel a little nervous about training with Sakura, but I did like her. No matter how much I want to hit her at times. And she does have potential as a kunoichi.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I realized I had fallen behind the rest of the group. I quickly jogged to catch up, and with that, we began to walk into the village together.

"Welcome to Konoha." I said to Zabuza and Haku, smiling. Haku smiled back at me, and the corners of Zabuza's lips even slightly tilted upwards.

"This better be worth it, brat." Zabuza said, looking down at me. I smiled.

"It will be. Trust me." I replied. I looked up to the rest of my team to find each of them were smiling as well, even Sasuke.

It's great to be home.

"So, your mission in the land of waves was a success, but you met two well known rogue ninja on the way, and instead of killing them, brought them back to the village and expect me to welcome in the two S-ranked criminals?" The Hokage summarized once we had explained the details to them. Our entire team was in his office, since Kakashi said it would be best if each of us testified for Haku and Zabuza's trustworthiness, while Zabuza and Haku waited outside, guarded by ANBU.

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly and looked around the room for help, to find that no one was about to speak up.

"Erm... Yeah. That's pretty much it." I said honestly. The Hokage sighed.

"And you realize how dangerous this is? Not only would I be allowing two criminals into the village, but this could cause trouble with the hidden mist village." The Hokage said. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, bowing deeply to show respect. I had thought this through throughout the entire trip home, and if kissing up to the Hokage was what it took to get Zabuza and Haku into the village, then I would gladly do it a hundred times over.

"Hokage-sama, I realize how large of a thing this is to ask of you. But I know that both Zabuza and Haku are good people, that will not do anything to to harm the village. I trust them completely. I know for a fact that they will help the village prosper and bring us nothing but good things. I beg of you to believe my word." I said, still bowing. The Hokage sighed again.

"And your entire team agrees with you?" He asked. Naruto was the first to answer.

"Of course, old man! They're actually really cool!" He said happily. Hiruzen nodded before turning his eyes to the rest of my team. Sakura smiled.

"I as well trust Zabuza and Haku, Hokage-sama." She said kindly.

"And me as well." Kakashi added, his eye crinkling in that way it does when he's smiling. Sasuke glared at the floor, not saying anything. I scowled at him and nudged him, silently telling him to speak up. He sent me a glare, and I smiled and sent him my very best puppy dog eyes. He sighed and finally spoke up.

"I agree with my team." He said reluctantly. I sent him a smile that clearly said 'thank you.' He nodded before glaring at the floor again. The Hokage chuckled.

"Very well. If each of you trust the two, then I can't very well say no without giving them a chance, can I? They will be under constant watch by ANBU until there is no doubt in anyone's mind of their loyalty to the lief village. Tell them to be on their best behavior, and if all goes well, they'll soon be accepted as citizens of Konoha." The Hokage said smiling. I jumped in joy.

"Yes!" I yelled happily, fist bumping the air. Hiruzen and Kakashi chuckled at me. "Come on, guys! Let's go to Ichiraku's to celebrate!" I offered. Naruto instantly agreed, though Sakura and Sasuke were a little more reluctant.

"No." Sasuke said bluntly. I pouted.

"Please?" I whined.

"No." He said again. I glared at him.

"Come on, Nami, we don't need him anyway!" Naruto said. Sasuke glared at him.

"But it's not going to be a team celebration unless everyone's there!" I insisted. "Right, Kakashi?" I asked. He sent me an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Nami. But I have to stay behind to give the Hokage the full mission report." He said. I pouted again.

"Well that's stupid." I said childishly. Kakashi chuckled and ruffled my hair. I frowned and quickly tried to fix it, which only made Kakashi chuckle more.

"Sorry kid." He told me, ending the conversation. I sighed before looking back towards my team.

"Well then that's settled! Since Kakashi can't come, the rest of you are, whether you like it or not!" I said, pointing at them. Sasuke glared at me while Sakura looked away sheepishly.

"I don't know... I'm not much of a ramen person..." Sakura said.

"Sucks for you! You're coming anyway! We need to do some team bonding, guys. And that includes you two." I said, narrowing my eyes at Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura sighed in defeat, while Sasuke just continued glaring at me. I smiled back at him. Naruto looked excited, obviously because Sakura was coming. I walked over to the emo duck and grabbed his wrist, beginning to drag him out of the room.

"Oh, and if you try to make a run for it, not only will I catch you and tie you up, forcing you to sit there and watch the rest of us eat happily, but you'll have to give me piggy back rides wherever you go." I said happily. The Uchiha glared at me.

"Why are you so annoying?" He muttered. I turned around, winking at him.

"It's a gift." I replied with a smile, before looking back at the rest of my team, who were still standing in the Hokage's room. I put my free hand on my hip, the other still clutching Sasuke's wrist. I grinned at my other two teammates.

"You coming, or what?" I asked, still grinning. I caught the Hokage and Kakashi watching the entire scene with amusement evident in their eyes. My pink haired and blonde friends quickly grinned as well, nodding and jogging to catch up to Sasuke and I. I didn't miss the quick glare Sakura gave to my hand wrapped around Sasuke's wrist, but she quickly shook the look off and continued smiling.

If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure that was progress. Well, I always knew Sakura had it in her to be more than a whiny fangirl.

"Bye old man! Kakashi-sensei! Catch ya later!" Naruto said while I waved as we walked away.

The entire time on the way to Ichiraku's, Sasuke kept glaring at my hand that was still gripping him. I giggled every time I looked back to see his face. But honestly, I was pretty shocked he hadn't wretched his hand out of my grasp yet. He hadn't even glared at Naruto or tried to start a fight yet.

Huh. Maybe the emo Uchiha doesn't hate us as much as he lets on.

* * *

**Third POV:**

"So, Kakashi, what else do you have to tell me?" The Hokage asked.

"Hokage-sama, when explaining the mission, there was one important thing that the others left out." Kakashi said.

"Oh? And what was that?"

"Nami died."

All was silent for a minute as the Hokage stared at Kakashi.

"Excuse me?" The Hokage finally said. Kakashi took a deep breath before answering.

"I was about to kill Zabuza with the chidori, when the boy, Haku, jumped in front. I would have killed him, if Nami hadn't jumped in front of the boy." Kakashi paused for a moment. "She died at my hands." The Hokage breathed in sharply.

"Then how-?" Hiruzen didn't need to finish for Kakashi to know what he was asking.

"She was dead for about a day. There was a gaping hole in her stomach, and the chidori would have electrocuted her from the inside out. Her heart had stopped beating, her face was deathly pale, and there was no doubt in my mind that she was gone. Then, when I was out digging her grave, in her words, she 'just woke up.' The wound had healed, and it was if she had never died."

Once again, it was silent for a minute as the Hokage tried to process this information.

"Kakashi, why did Nami save Haku and Zabuza in the first place?" Hiruzen asked. Kakashi sighed.

"When my team faced Zabuza, he hinted to who Nami was. It began eating her up. She couldn't stand others knowing more about her past than she did. She came to me for answers, but I didn't give her any.

"So she left. She went to Zabuza. She said the man that had brought her here told her to go in another dream. I don't know what happened while she was with Zabuza, but she obviously grew to care about the two. She said she saw in the good in them. I don't think she was ready to let it die out before it even fought it's way to the surface." Kakashi finished.

"So she knows." Hiruzen stated. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes. She knows who she is."

The Hokage sighed. "Many people are going to either attempt to seek her out, or kill her."

"I realize that."

"And I assume that you will be doing all in your power to protect her?"

"And more."

The Hokage smiled at that. "Make sure she doesn't leave the village. As long as she stays inside the gates, she should be safe." He said. Kakashi nodded.

"Hokage-sama, do you have any idea how she came back to life? Or how the man from her dreams is?" Kakashi asked. The Hokage considered this.

"I have a theory." He finally stated.

"If I may ask, what is that theory?" Hiruzen smiled lightly.

"Sit down, Kakashi. This may take a while."

* * *

**Nami's POV:**

Ichiraku's was delicious. As usual. Not much of a surprise there. Naruto and I downed countless bowls as the others watched us with wide eyes. I had managed to convince Zabuza and Haku to come with us, though they didn't eat anything.

"God, Naruto! Stop eating so much, idiot! You're going to throw up again!" Sakura yelled, smacking Naruto over the head. I giggled at the scene. A month ago I would have gotten pissed at Sakura for doing something like that, but I honestly don't think she means any harm. It was just part of who she was, just as her fawning over Sasuke was part of who she was. No matter how much I tried, I can't change that about her. All I can do is try to bring out even more of the good parts about her. And it's not like the rest of us don't have our faults.

"Shush Sakura." I said still giggling. "Naruto and I have a bottomless stomach when it comes to Ichiraku's." Naruto grinned at me.

"That's right!" He said, finishing his bowl at the same time I did.

"Teuchi! Another bowl!" We yelled in unison, before grinning at each other. Teuchi chuckled.

"I swear, I make half my earnings off of you two." He said as he put down another bowl in front of Naruto and I. Zabuza and Haku chuckled at our appetites.

"So?" I asked them. "How's your ramen?"

Zabuza grunted in reply and Haku smiled at me and then Teuchi. "It's very good- thank you." He said.

"No problem kid. Are you two new to the village? I've never seen you before." Teuchi said casually.

"Yep!" Naruto answered for them. "We recruited them while we were out on our mission."

"Well, welcome to the village." Teuchi said to Haku and Zabuza. They nodded, Haku with a smile.

"Hey Haku, Zabuza?" Naruto said when he finished his bowl a little later. They looked at him, signaling for him to continue.

"Do you think you could train me?!" He blurted put quickly. I chuckled when I saw Zabuza and Haku's surprised faces. "It's just-" Naruto continued. "You two are really strong ninja and I want to get really strong too!" He finished hopefully. Zabuza opened his mouth quickly, probably to shoot Naruto down, before I stopped him by whispering in his ear.

"I bet you the village will be more convinced of your loyalty if you do. And then you'll be allowed outside the village for missions! But, I completely understand if you don't want to, but then you should understand when I tell the Hokage how you denied to train one of the few people in this village who actually trust you..." I whispered tauntingly. Zabuza glared at me.

"Brat." He muttered under his breath. Haku watched the scene with amusement evident in his eyes.

"Fine." Zabuza said to Naruto, causing him to grin widely.

"I knew you'd say yes, believe it!" He said happily.

"Of course, I'll be coming to the training sessions as well." I said, causing Zabuza to mutter something inaudibly. I turned towards my surprisingly quiet teammates. Well, Sasuke is always quiet, but something seemed off. I don't know, he just didn't seem like himself. Sakura either didn't have anything to say or was trying to impress Sasuke.

"Either of you want to join?" I asked the other two members of my team. Sakura looked over to Sasuke, waiting to hear his answer.

"Who'd want to train with a bunch of idiots? You'd only hold me back." Sasuke scoffed as he got up to leave. I just rolled my eyes.

"You're going to fall behind if you think like that, duck butt." I said, standing up as well. He turned around to face me.

"That's impossible. No way could you two ever beat me." Sasuke said, looking at me irritably. I glared at him. He was taking this farther than usual.

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, getting ready to attack him before I grabbed his arm to hold him back.

"Seriously, Sasuke? I don't know what makes you think you're so much better than the rest of us, but it's getting pretty damn annoying! So get your head out of your ass, and start acting like we're a team! Because we _are_! No matter how much you may hate it!" I said, my voice raising unintentionally.

"Oh, I'm annoying? I'm not the one who just showed up here in this village like I belong here! You have no memories, and yet you just come here and act like you've always been here! I don't go around dragging people around and making them do things they want to do! I don't bring two S-ranked criminals into our village like they're perfectly safe people! I don't act like I'm the most important person in the world and that everyone needs me! But guess what, Nami?" He hissed at me. "You _do. _And I've never been more annoyed with someone in my entire life." He spat, taking a step towards me. "I wish you'd stayed dead." He finished, staring me dead in the eyes.

I was frozen. It was like time had stopped, and all that existed was Sasuke and I.

I knew Sasuke didn't like most people. I knew Sasuke didn't like me. But I always believed... I thought... I thought that one day I would be able to change his mind. I thought I could get him to open up to others. I knew it wouldn't happen overnight, but I would keep trying. I thought I could show him that there were still people out there who cared for him. Who wanted to help him.

Like me.

I guess I was wrong.

His words shouldn't have hurt me so much. They were, after all, just words. And in all honesty, they didn't. At least not all that much.

His words didn't hurt me. What hurt me, was the fact that he _wanted them to._

Funny, isn't it?

How the realization that someone you care about wants to hurt you, hurts more than what they actually did.

I don't know how long I stayed like that. Staying completely still, staring straight into Sasuke's cold, unwavering eyes. I could faintly hear Sakura's shocked gasp, and feel Naruto's arm shaking under my finally snapped me out of my trance, was a fist crashing straight into Sasuke's face, sending him flying into the ground.

I looked down to see Naruto's arm was no longer in my hand. I looked back up to see Naruto standing in front of me, blocking Sasuke from my view. His entire body was shaking in fury.

"Don't you even _dare_ talk about Nami that way _ever again._" His voice sent shivers down my spine. It was terrifying. A quick glance at Sakura let me know I wasn't the only one who thought so.

Naruto began stalking over to where Sasuke was still on the ground, raising his fist to hit him again. I wanted to move, but it was almost as if I was paralyzed. Luckily, I didn't need to, because Haku quickly grabbed Naruto, pulling him away from Sasuke.

"Naruto. you need to calm down." Haku said calmly. Naruto growled.

"To hell with calming down! I'm sick and tired of that asshole thinking he's so much better than everyone else and putting other people down! Nami didn't deserve that! She did _nothing_ to deserve that!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke slowly stood up, and Naruto wretched himself out of Haku's grasp.

"How fucking dare you?! Nami has done nothing but support you! What the hell did she do to deserve that?" Naruto continued yelling, taking another step towards Sasuke, his fists shaking.

_"Shut up._" Sasuke hissed back.

"You know what, Sasuke? _Fuck you. _You're nothing but a whiny, annoying, pathetic _idiot._ And Nami deserves way better than the likes of _you_." Naruto snarled.

"Naruto, Sasuke... stop it." My voice came out shaky and timid, but at least it got my two teammates to stop looking at each other like they wanted nothing more than to murder the other. Naruto's gaze immediately turned from a gaze of nothing but pure hate to one of concern and worry when his eyes landed on me. I sent him a small smile before my eyes met with Sasuke's.

For a second, I almost thought I saw regret flash through his eyes.

Before I could figure out if it was my imagination or not, he huffed and turned away, quickly walking away from our little group. Naruto was about to go after him, before I grabbed his arm again. I sent him the most comforting smile I could.

"I'm fine. You don't have to do that." I told him. He looked reluctant, but nodded anyway. I turned to face Zabuza, Haku, and Sakura.

"Looks like we need to work on our teamwork, a little, huh?" I said sheepishly, giving off a nervous laugh, though I'm sure it sounded more forced than anything.

"You alright, kid?" Zabuza asked, trying to seem emotionless, but I coud hear the little bit of concern making it's way into his voice. I gave a forced smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." I said, waving my hand in a dismissive gesture. "But, um, I think I'm going to head home too. I'll see you guys tomorrow for training." Before they could object, I had already started running off, getting away from there as quickly as I could.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long guys! I've been having some major writers block, so I hope the chapter turned out okay.**

**So what's going on with duck butt? He was being a major douche this chapter. But there had to be a reason for it, right? _Right? _*hint hint* ;)**

**There's going to be either one or two more chapters leading up to the chunin exams, not sure.**

**Anyway, ILOVEYOUALLSOMUCH**

**REVIEWFAVORITEFOLLOW**


	18. Chapter 18

I never went back to Kakashi's that night.

I didn't want to think.

That didn't work out too well for me.

It's all that stupid Uchiha's fault! He just _had_ to put me in a horrible mood, didn't he? Well fuck him.

Instead of going back to Kakashi's place, I wandered around the village until it was dark. I stopped at a lot of ninja stores, stocking upp on supplies and weapons of every shape and size. I tryed to think of everything but that emo duck, but like I said, it didn't work out too well.

After a while, I made my way to my favorite spot on top of the Hokage's heads. Whenever I want there, it always cleared my head. I felt safe. Not to mention the freaking amazing view of the village. I sat there staring at the stars, talking in the beautiful place I now lived in. There were so many people here I wanted to protect.

And I would do everything I can to acheive the goal.

It was then that I realized that I had told my team the wrong dream on that day where we introduced ourselves. I told them that my dream would be to get my memories back.

Getting my memories back seems so... meaningless, now.

I know that no one out there has been looking for me since I dissapeared. I can feel it. So why would I ever want to get memories back of times that probably weren't all that great? And wherever I was before this?

I doubt that it was anywhere better than here.

My dream... my dream is to be able to protect the ones I love. To be strong enough to take care of them. Each and every one... I'll keep them safe.

I swear it.

Well then! I can't exactly keep everyone safe if I'm as weak as I am now, can I? I'll just have to change that. And so, I made my way to the nearest training ground.

Remember how I said the Hokage mountains help me clear my mind? Yeah, the second I left I realized just how true that is.

"Stupid duck butt. Who does he think he is?" I muttered angrily under my breath as I walked to the training grounds. The entire way, I kept muttering more and more curses, each directed at a certain raven haired boy.

After a bit of walking and cursing, I finally reached one of the training grounds. Pulling out my pack of kunai, I decided to practice my aim some more. When the target blurred into Sasuke's face, I only glared at it.

"Douche nozzle."I spit as I tossed a kunai, channeling all my anger into the throw, and even without any chakra, sending the kunai deep into the tree.

"Fucktard." I threw another kunai.

"Dildo muffin." I threw faster.

"Assclown!" Another. "Slut waffle!" Again. "Fucking inconsiderate, idiotic, cocky bitch!" I yelled angrily, throwing the kunai in quick succession, each of them landing directly on the target. I reached for another kunai, to find that I had thrown all of the ones I had.

With all of my frustration vented, I realized just how tired I was. I suddenly felt a wet presence on my face, and reached my hand up to touch it, only to realize that I had started crying. Quickly wiping the tears off my face, I marched over to where the kunai where lodged into a tree, trying to pull them out, despite my shaking hand.

When I had pulled all of the kunai out except one, I heard a very familiar voice come from behind me.

"Nami." It said calmly. I quickly whipped around to see none other than my silver haired sensei. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of me.

"Nami, what's wrong? Have you been crying?" He asked cautiously. I guess my eyes were probably still red and puffy. I wanted to shake it off and laugh, telling Kakashi that everything was fine, just fine. But for some unknown reason even to me, I couldn't.

I guess Kakashi is one of the few people I can't even find it in me to even try to lie to them. So instead of doing what I would normally do, I slumped down against the tree, looking anywhere but Kakashi. I sat on the ground taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself. Kakashi didn't say anything, and for a second I thought he had left. That is, until I heard the crinkling of leaves as he say down next to me, also leaning up against the tree.

"Why are you here?" I asked him, my voice wavering.

"You never came home. I was worried." He said simply. I nodded slowly.

"Sorry." I told him.

"It's alright." All was silent for a while, and I knew he was waiting for me to explain what had happened. I took a deep breath.

"Sasuke." I stated, not meeting his eyes. I felt him stiffen.

"What did he do?" Kakashi asked, almost bitterly.

"He was being the emo duck he is." I smiled lightly, no longer angry. "I don't know what was going through his head, but he told me what he thought of me. And it hurt." I said, looking up at the stars. Kakashi shifted uncomfortably, obviously at a loss for what to say.

"He didn't mean it." Kakashi finally said. I looked over to him quickly, surprised that he would say something like that. "I mean, whatever he said, I doubt he meant it." He added, scratching the back of his neck uncertainly before continuing.

"I've seen how much he cares about you, Nami. The entire team. You're an irreplaceable member of team 7. And team 7 has formed an unbreakable bond- one where we each for care for each other more than we would have ever though. Just as Naruto and Sasuke really care about the other, and Sakura really cares about Naruto, and Sasuke really cares about Sakura." Kakashi took a break and I saw him begin smiling. "We may have trouble expressing that care for each other, but it will always be there. Whether we want it to or not.

"So trust me when I tell you that whatever he said, he meant the opposite, Nami. The feeling of caring for someone is new to him, and in a way, he's scared." Kakashi finished.

"Why would he be scared?" I asked, confused. Kakashi smiled and ruffled my hair.

"He's scared of getting to close to you." He told me. I narrowed my eyes at him, obviously not believing his statement, and quickly pushed his hand away from my head.

"Yeah right." I huffed. Kakashi chuckled and shifted his gaze back out into the forest. It was a while before either of us spoke again.

"You know, Kakashi, when it counts, you always know the right things to say." I said quietly. Kakashi smiled slightly.

"Thanks, kiddo."

"Kakashi?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" He asked. I smiled faintly.

"For being there for me. For being my family when I had none. I really needed that." He smiled back at me.

"We both needed some family." He said slowly. Once again, there was a long pause in the conversation.

"Do you miss them?" I suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"Huh?"

"Your team. Do you miss them?" He visibly stiffened and I began to regret asking the question, and was about to tell him to forget it, before he answered.

"Yeah. More than I ever imagined I would have when they were still here." He said, his voice wavering very slightly. I cautiously reached out and gave his hand a small squeeze.

"I'm sorry." I said gently. He squeezed my hand back, and I was almost asleep when Kakashi finally answered.

"It's okay." He whispered. With my eyes closed gently, I felt myself smiling.

For some reason, I felt like those two words meant quite a lot.

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, it's a short chapter. But holy crap I've been having some horrible writers block and it was really hard to write this chapter. And it really just didn't feel right to add anything else to it.**

**Alright! So how about Nami and Kakashi? Aren't they just ADORABLE!**

**Oh, and just so you know, there's no romance here. Kakashi and Nami have a father daughter bond.**

**But actually... bringing up the topic of romance... I want your guys' help with pairings! No one is off limits at all, even Kakashi. I mean, if you're into stuff like that. I think my favorites for her would be Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, or maybe Gaara. **

**So leave a review and tell me who you want Nami to have a little bit of a connection with, if you know what I mean ;)**

**And do it quick! If I don't get much feedback, I'm just going to go with who I like best.**

**And guess who's coming in next chapter? Fucking Gaara smexyness of the sand. WHOS EXCITED?! I am :)**

**Anyway, I LERHV YOU ALL WITH ALL OF MY HEART.**

**Stay smexy.**


End file.
